Top EC official gets the message on effort control concerns with onus now on UK Governments to press

The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation has underlined to a top EC fisheries official that the new effort control regime agreed at the December Fish Council is causing extreme anger on the quayside and threatens to destroy trust between the fishing industry and EC and UK governments unless urgent moves are made to resolve the issue.

At a constructive meeting with Reinhard Priebe, EC Director in Charge of the NE Atlantic, the SFF made it clear that the new effort control regime agreed as part of the cod recovery plan is unworkable and jeopardises the future of large sections of the Scottish fleet.

Bertie Armstrong, SFF chief executive, said: “We explained to him that the fishing industry is committed to sustainable fishing and the recovery of cod stocks and has made great efforts and sacrifices over the last year to achieve these goals.

“But these new measures now being introduced represent a very serious commercial challenge to the industry. We pulled no punches and explained very clearly that if our fishermen lose confidence in their own Government and the EC, then trust will disappear and all the progress that has been made over the last 18 months will have been lost.

“We made it very plain that the speed and the severity of the new measures being applied is totally intolerable for the fleet and is causing real hardship.”

Mr Priebe gave a sympathetic hearing to the concerns of the Federation and seemed to understand the key concerns raised. But whilst he is one of the most influential fisheries officials in the EC, he made it clear that it is up to UK Government ministers to press for changes at the EC Fish Council.

Working closely with the NFFO, the fishermen’s representative body south of the border, the SFF will now be seeking urgent dialogue with both the Scottish and UK Fisheries Ministers to seek agreement on a joint approach to get the new regulations satisfactorily revised at the European level.

“Mr Priebe seemed to understand the seriousness of the current situation and it is now imperative that the UK Governments act as matter of urgency to press for changes to the regulations at the European level,” said Mr Armstrong.

Ends

For more information:

Bertie Armstrong, SFF chief executive: tel: 01224 646944.

Mobile: 0780 1626822.

Keith Broomfield: tel: 01383 823333.