No concessions on days at sea, says Scottish fishing minister – Fishupdate.com
No concessions on days at sea, says Scottish fishing minister Published: 16 November, 2004
SCOTTISH fisheries Minister Ross Finnie said today the fishing fleets days at sea entitlement was non-negotiable.
Speaking at a Scottish Executive conference of fishing industry and other stakeholders in advance of the December Fisheries Council, Mr Finnie said he was determined to work with the industry ahead of the December fish talks.
He said he would work with Scotland’s fishing industry and fishing interests to bring common sense to the critical European fisheries negotiations.
I am clear that our fisheries policy must be based on the best independent scientific evidence, he said
We still await formal proposals from the European Commission ahead of this year’s negotiations. Early indications suggest that the Commission’s Scientific Technical and Economic Committee (STECF) agree with us that the evidence on some stocks is inconclusive.
We must continue to respond responsibly where advice shows stocks are under threat. However, we expect the Commission to take full account of the part that Scotland’s industry has played in helping to conserve fish stocks.
Finnie emphasised that they were not in the game of further reductions in days at sea. The extra days we have achieved as a result of our decommissioning schemes are non-negotiable.
We will be working to bring more common sense into the effort and haddock
management regimes. I hope to make progress in these areas especially given
the Dutch Presidency’s commitment to simpler, better regulation.
*www.fishupdate.com is published by Special Publications. Special Publications also publish European Fish Trader, Fishing Monthly, Fish Farming Today, Fish Farmer, the Fish Industry Yearbook, the Scottish Fishermens Federation Diary, the Scottish Seafood Processors Federation Diary, the Fish Farmer Handbook and a range of wallplanners.