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WHILE senior politicians were hailing the result of the weekend European Union fish quota talks as the "best possible deal", fishermen in Scotland and England were taking quite the opposite view.
The complex outcome of the talks which went into the early hours of Saturday morning means the UK fishing fleet will be allowed higher quotas for next year, but face fewer days at sea under a new European Union agreement. Britain may be at loggerheads with France and Germany over euro reforms, but ironically it was support from these two countries which prevented a worse package for the UK.
The UK Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon said he had secured “the best possible deal” for the fishing industry after three weeks of behind the scenes negotiations and two days around the negotiating table. "By arguing that we should follow scientific advice we have been able to agree quotas that will not only allow local fishermen to make a living but will also ensure that we can protect the environment," he said.
Mr Benyon added: "One of my primary goals was to see off the threat of excessive reductions in days at sea which would have put key UK fisheries at risk."
His Scottish counterpart Richard Lochhead said: "Quotas are the lifeblood of the fleet and we have won increases for our key stocks in line with the science. There is very good news on the west coast in particular with a 200 per cent increase in haddock quota and the removal of regulations that were hurting the fleet."
He also highlighted the retention of this year's scampi catch allowance in Northern Ireland next year.
The minister responsible for Northern Ireland's fisheries, Michelle O'Neill, said the fact that the prawn quota was being maintained was a positive outcome for the province. But there will be a 25 per cent cod quota cut in the Irish Sea..
The Brussels results were not, however, welcomed by Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation, who described the outcome as a blow for the industry. He said the fleet was now only permitted to spend 45 per cent of time at sea compared to the position just over three years ago.
He strongly criticised the cuts in days at sea estimated at between 15 per cent and 25 cent, saying: “While fishing opportunity in terms of tonnage has always been vital, this time around it was the granting of enough time at sea to actually catch the fish that was under threat.
“This is a bitter blow for our fishing fleet, which is now going to struggle to maintain economic viability under the impact of these totally unwarranted cuts.
“Effort control (by cutting days at sea) is fundamentally flawed as a fisheries management measure and the Commission has totally ignored the real progress in stock conservation in Scotland in recent years through unilateral conservation measures that have helped boost stock recovery. Our whole industry is now facing a very difficult future.”
Scottish Conservative MEP Struan Stevenson said it was a serious blow that fishermen were now being given increased quotas for some fish, but not enough time at sea to catch them.
Barrie Deas, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations (NFFO), representing England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said: "The casual observer would never guess that the stocks advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas for this year paints the most positive picture for more than a decade."
He added that the outcome of the "tortuous" negotiations was "absurd" and provided "ample evidence" of the need to reform the Commons Fisheries Policy.
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