SCOTTISH skippers will become masters of their own destiny for the first time in more than 20 years in a landmark "leap of faith" deal agreed by European fisheries ministers yesterday.
The historic devolution of management agreement will reward trawlermen with additional days at sea – provided they are prepared to adopt various conservation measures aimed at ensuring the future of fragile stocks.
But only the Scottish white-fish
fleet, which has been trail-blazing a voluntary conservation regime for the past 18 months, stands ready to benefit from the breakthrough bonus days allowance.
At the heart of the new fisheries regime is the agreement to devolve responsibility for the management of fishing effort in Scottish waters to Scotland for the first time since the controversial Common Fisheries Policy was signed in 1983.
The deal will grant full flexibility to the Scottish Government, working in tandem with the fishing industry, to decide how days at sea are allocated. Additional fishing time will be awarded to skippers who agree to adopt various conservation measures – from 21-day real-time closure in areas where there are large quantities of juvenile cod to technical discard reduction schemes.
The details of the "conservation credit" scheme have still to be thrashed out before the new measures come into force on 1 February.
But while the white-fish and prawn fleets were last night facing the prospect of a prosperous and viable New Year, there was only gloom and despondency in the smaller pelagic fleet. It has been hit by massive cuts of 41 per cent in its key North Sea herring quota and nine per cent reduction in the mackerel catch.
Bertie Armstrong, the chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation, said the devolution of days at sea controls represented the most fundamental change in fisheries management in more than two decades, effectively providing Scottish trawlermen with the means for their own salvation.
"It's been a leap of faith," he said. "The commission are essentially saying, 'put your money where your mouth is – you run it and if you keep cod mortality running in the right direction you can do this yourselves'. It will have to work and we are determined to make it work."
However, Helen McLachlan, the senior marine policy officer of the environmental pressure group, WWF Scotland, urged caution. She said: "If the fishermen fail to implement cod avoidance plans, we will have wasted the only chance at recovery since 1997. The stakes are high – let's hope they can deliver."
The full article contains 424 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
