News and Views

Scots mackerel fishermen welcome sanctions announcement by EC Fisheries Commissioner

15/12/2011

Scottish mackerel fishermen have welcomed the commitment given today (15 December) by Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki at the EU Fish Council meeting in Brussels that negotiations for a new mackerel agreement in January are the last chance for Faroes and Iceland to avoid sanctions. If no agreement is reached, then the process will start for the introduction of sanctions.

Whilst details of the full extent of the sanction measures have still to be revealed, Ian Gatt, chief executive of the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association, said the move by the EC is welcome.

“Mackerel is an incredibly important stock for Scotland and this announcement today by Commissioner Damanaki gives a clear signal that Iceland and the Faroes must now see sense and reach a responsible agreement that will ensure sustainable fishing of mackerel in the north-east Atlantic,” he said.

“If no agreement is reached at the next round of talks in January, then Iceland and the Faroes will have to recognise that they will no longer have full access for the trade of their fish products into the crucially important European market. Hopefully, this will provide the spur for Iceland and the Faroes to reach a fair and balanced deal.

“The Scottish fishing industry will seek assurances from the Scottish and UK Governments that they will lend their full support in delivering the required legislation for sanctions.”

Mackerel uncertainty continues

14/12/2011

Commenting on the failure of marathon negotiations at the end of last week to agree an international mackerel fishing deal in talks that included the EU, Norway, Faroe Islands and Iceland, Ian Gatt, chief executive of the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association, said:

“The situation is described as being not a complete breakdown but that negotiations are suspended and will be resumed in Reykjavik on 25 January 2012. We understand that both Iceland and the Faroes were made an offer on mackerel shares from the EU and Norway, which while not accepted, it is our understanding that Iceland hasn’t rejected it either, and this is the basis for continuing the talks next month.

“In the meantime, a provisional mackerel quota has been set by the EU and Norway. This is obviously not an ideal solution as it again sees the Scottish industry working under a cloud regarding our final mackerel allocation.”

It is expected that the EC will propose sanctions this week against Iceland and the Faroes on 14 December ahead of the December Fish Council in Brussels. This will be a proposal from the EC, and it will then be up to the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament to legislate on the proposal.

Mr Gatt said: “We welcome this move as it has been a long time in coming and will send a clear message to Iceland and the Faroes that the EU is serious about taking action against over-fishing. The Scots pelagic industry will be urging Scots fisheries minister Richard Lochhead, and UK counterpart Richard Benyon, to take the lead on this, given that the UK is the largest stakeholder in the mackerel fishery.

Meanwhile, Ian Gatt is in Strasbourg today (12 December) in attendance of a debate and vote on the future of the EU/Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement, which provides crucial employment for Scottish and Western Saharan people.

Mr Gatt said: “Several factories in the town of Dahkla are dependent upon the fish caught by a Scottish fishing company for their livelihoods, and should the European Parliament vote against the partnership agreement, then many jobs could be jeopardised. Struan Stevenson MEP has been incredibly supportive to the Scottish pelagic industry on this and has worked tirelessly in the lead up to the vote.”

Later this week, the December Fish Council gets underway on 15 December, and the SPFA will be looking to secure herring quotas in the West of Scotland and Irish Sea in line with ICES scientific advice. In addition, Scotland’s pelagic fishermen will be looking to secure additional quota in boarfish, a relatively new fishery that is being undertaken in the Bay of Biscay.

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Third Scottish pelagic fishery gains MSC certification

31/03/2010

The Scottish Pelagic Sustainability Group (SPSG) celebrated the certification of its third fishery as sustainable and well-managed under the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard on 19 March at a lunch held at the Silver Darling restaurant in Aberdeen. The Atlanto-Scandian herring fishery was certified after a thirteen month assessment undertaken by Food Certification International. Herring from this fishery are now eligible to bear the MSC eco label.

SPSG pelagic trawlers fitted with the latest refrigerated seawater tank systems catch Atlanto-Scandian herring over a large area of the northeast Atlantic. The Scottish fleet will fish around 20,000 tonnes in 2010. Much of this is taken in February, the main fishing season, with the remainder caught in the autumn.

For further information including the full SPSG/MSC press release see: http://www.scottishpelagicsg.org/news/49-celebrating-certification-of-atlanto-scandian-herring.html

SPFA welcomes mackerel agreement as important first step

01/02/2010

The Scottish Pelagic Fishermen's Association has welcomed the conclusion of the fisheries consultations between the EU and Norway for 2010 and the signing of a multi-annual mackerel agreement between the parties from 2011 while pointing out that securing the agreements came at a cost and that this is merely an important first step in finding a holistic solution to managing North East Atlantic mackerel. The Association is of the view that more work needs to be done to secure a fair deal for Community pelagic fishermen in the overall context of mackerel management.

The long-term bilateral mackerel deal includes agreement on important aspects such as; management objectives, relative quota shares, access arrangements, inter-annual quota flexibility and control and enforcement.

Association chairman, Alex Wiseman commented; “We are pleased that the Community has reached agreement with Norway on the long-term management of mackerel as it is absolutely essential to the future sustainability of the mackerel stock for the two principle stakeholders to have common positions.

“This agreement provides a platform for the EU and Norway to negotiate together with the other existing Coastal State, the Faroe Islands, and also with Iceland when they all get together in March. What we need is an agreement that includes all parties but one that does not in any way reward irresponsible behaviour.

“There are elements of the settlement which are however rather one-sided in Norway’s favour. For example, we are concerned that the level of access the Norwegian fleet will have to fish mackerel in our waters is very high in comparison to the level of flexibility we have to fish our western mackerel in the North Sea as the stock migrates. This is something that needs to be addressed internally within the EU and we hope that the additional flexibility gained for 2010 can be improved upon in future. As I have said before, it is the overall quantity of fish removed from the stock that matters, not where the fish are caught.”

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