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Scottish Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead has criticised the European Commission for proposing a 'meagre' increase in West Coast haddock fishing quotas, which will lead to an increase in discards due to proposals being far lower than advised by scientists.
Mr Lochhead called on the commission to adopt a consistent approach when it comes to applying scientific advice, not to pick and choose when to follow science.
The Cabinet Secretary was commenting on the EC proposals for 2012 fishing opportunities for stocks not subject to international negotiations which have just been published.
Mr Lochhead said: "We're committed to safeguarding our valuable fish stocks and helping them to recover. Following scientific advice is vital if we are to achieve this.
"It is a great relief to see the first signs of recovery of the West of Scotland haddock stock. Seeing the haddock stock recover to sustainable levels should be a cause for celebration yet the proposals announced today will only punish the fishermen who have worked so hard on conservation.
"Despite scientific advice recommending a 410 per cent increase for the West Coast haddock Total Allowable Catch, the commission have only proposed a meagre 25 per cent increase. Not only does this penalise our fishermen unnecessarily it could also lead to an increase in discarded fish - something both we and the commission have been working hard to reduce.
"No one can imagine that the commission, if faced with evidence suggesting a 410 per cent cut would enforce a 25 per cent cut. There seems to be one rule for suggesting decreases in allocations, and another for increases.
"The evidence shows that the haddock stock can now support a targeted fishery, and the marked improvement in the state of the stock also means that the catch-composition rules are no longer appropriate for West of Scotland haddock and will only increase discards further.
"This flies in the face of the aims of both Scotland and the EU. We cannot talk about introducing discard bans whilst current discard-increasing measures remain in place. We will continue to work closely with the commission to ensure the urgent removal of these measures, but in addition are calling for the commission to urgently review and increase the proposed haddock quotas in line with the scientific advice.
"I am calling on the commission to adopt a consistent approach to implementing scientific advice to ensure a fair deal for our fishermen and continue the important stock conservation work which is already underway."
Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, said: “We share with the European Commission the aims of sustainable food production from the sea. Unfortunately, this first set of proposals represents yet another huge missed opportunity by the European Commission. We had hoped that with the Scottish fleet’s record of discard reduction and stock conservation that a more intelligent approach to fisheries management would have been adopted by the EC this year. Unfortunately, we have another dose of the same old medicine.
“Many of the cuts have been imposed as an automatic result of the failure of other EU member states to supply adequate catch data. This means that many of the cuts are not due to poor stock levels, but rather a blunt instrument by the EC to improve the flow of catch data. It is totally unfair that the Scottish industry, which has been at the forefront of providing such data, should be penalised for the inaction of other EU member states.
“We are particularly disappointed that the increase in West of Scotland haddock, whilst welcome as far as it goes, does not come close to recognising the robust health of this important stock and will inevitably lead to discarding, a practice the Scottish fleet finds abhorrent. Similarly, whilst the Scottish fleet shares the EC’s aim for the recovery of the cod stock, the zero catch proposed for West coast cod is counter-productive in terms of discards and will do more harm than good. There are better, much more intelligent ways to meet the aims of sustainable fishing and we will be fighting to put those in place."
Amongst the key elements is the proposal for no fishing to take place on the West coast for cod. Proposals for other important west coast fisheries include a 25% cut for anglerfish (monkfish), 15% reduction for megrim and 11% for hake.
It is proposed that west coast haddock be increased by 25% and prawns (nephrops) by a very small margin. In the North Sea, the important prawn fishery is in line for an 11% cut in quota.
The proposals set levels of TAC and fishing effort for fish stocks managed by the EU exclusively, and not for stocks managed with third countries (such as Norway) including North Sea haddock and cod, which will be set at a later date.
The Scottish white fish fleet have reduced discards of West of Scotland haddock by about a third between 2009 and 2010. However, with a recovering stock, unless quotas are increased dramatically this work will have been in vain.
Due to the current inappropriate catch composition rules brought into place to protect white fish stocks, in 2010 half the West of Scotland haddock caught was thrown away - an environmental and economic disgrace.
The 2,808 tonnes of West of Scotland haddock estimated to have been thrown away by the Scottish fleet last year, worth an estimated £3.5 million, is more than the Commission are proposing for a Total Allowable Catch next year.
Details of the EC proposals are available here: http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/cfp/fishing_rules/tacs/index_en.htm
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