Monkfish increase may come at Christmas – Fishupdate.com
Monkfish increase may come at Christmas Published: 29 September, 2006
DISAPPOINTMENT over the lack of a monkfish quota increase could be tempered at end-of-year fish talks.Meanwhile the North Sea haddock quota is set to come under more pressure, it emerged today
An in-year quota increase for monkfish may be dead in the water but fishermens leaders are now hoping this can be incorporated into the forthcoming December fisheries deal.
This was underlined today by Mike Park, the executive chairman of the Scottish White Fish Producers Association who said it was obviously regrettable that an anticipated 10% increase had not gone ahead this year already.
But he added that they were now looking positively at the prospects for the 10% to be incorporated into the Christmas EU deal.
It is our hope that this will happen and there are indications that there may be willingness in the European Commission to accept this for next year.
Mr Park said that that he believed the failure to win an in-year increase for the Northern Shelf stock may have in part been due to fall-out from the substantial increase won by South-west of England fishermen a couple of years ago.But winning the increase finally would send the right message to fishermen now doubting the value of co-operating with scientists over stock surveys
Meanwhile Mr Park questioned the belief that the North Sea haddock quota will not be netted this year.
His own figures showed that the quota uptake was now over 60% of entitlement and with other species including whiting and saithe beginning to run out, there would be a lot more emphasis on haddock catching in the last three months of this year.
That would be good news for processors concerned over supplies drying up in the last catching period of the year.
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