FISHING leaders are warning that ‘draconian’ proposals by the European Commission (EC) to protect white fish stocks could finish off the prawn fishing industry on the west coast of Scotland.
Earlier this week the EC confirmed proposals to close white fish and langoustine fisheries off the west coast of Scotland as well as closing fishing grounds on the west coast to all but mackerel and herring boats.
John Hermse of Mallaig and North West Fishermen’s Federation was in Brussels this week as part of a Scottish delegation with rural affairs secretary Richard Lochhead.
He said the situation looked ‘pretty grim’ for the west coast prawn fishery which could be ‘finished off’ if the EC proposals are put into practise in January next year.
The new rules would mean countless jobs lost in the fishing fleet and would be a massive blow to the west coast economy.
Speaking on Tuesday this week Mr Hermse said: ‘It’s looking pretty grim.
‘We met with the technical officers of the EU yesterday along with the government team and it looks as if there will be no white fisheries for cod, haddock and whiting. They seem set on implementing a grid system because of discards and the perilous state of stocks. We expressed our reservations about the science they used, and the analysis from this, and we are going to go back and try and supplement their science with some of our own research and put a more local slant on it for the west coast to see if that will assuage the problem.
‘But there is a lot of work to be done in the next two to three weeks to try and stop this happening. They seem set on imposing the grid system which will shut down the whole west coast prawn fishery.
‘Small boats of 10 to 16 metres just cannot use them as there are serious health and safety risks.
‘The Danes stopped using them when a crewman was very badly hurt when using the grids and from a health and safety viewpoint our industry just won’t use them.
‘This will finish off the whole west coast prawn fishery. The EU has plundered the North Sea and closed down all its communities and they are trying to do the same with the west coast.
‘It doesn’t bother them that communities are erased, there is an amazing amount of pressure coming from environmental organisations.’
Mr Hermse also praised the efforts of Mr Lochhead and his team, saying: ‘The government are putting up a very spirited fight. We have been given a lot of support which we have not really enjoyed from previous governments. I think it’s important that is said. They are trying their best to help us.’
Bertie Armstrong of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation said that the Scottish team propose a more measured approach to conserving fish stocks.
He said: ‘We have been expecting a tough starting position, but the combination of all the measures in the first proposals, particularly the blanket west coast closure, presents us with a very black picture.
‘At this point, the commitment to sustainable harvesting made by us in very practical terms over the last 18 months, including the targeted closures of fishing grounds and technical alterations of nets to release unwanted fish, has yet to be recognised.’
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