Fisheries talks outcome welcomed in Orkney

The threat of a further cut in the number of days that Scottish fishing vessels can put to sea has been averted.

This was one of the key outcomes from the EC Fish Council that concluded in Brussels on Tuesday night, with the news welcomed in Orkney.

With key fish stocks such as North Sea cod now increasing in size, fishermen were pressing for a freeze in fishing effort, given that any further reduction in fishing days would have placed an unbearable economic burden on the fleet for absolutely no conservation gain.

Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation said: “We are relieved that there will be no further cuts in fishing days as it would have brought real economic hardship to the fleet at a time when fish stocks are recovering. Freezing the effort at its current level was entirely the common sense approach to take.”

UK Government efforts to meet targets set by fishing industry representatives have “very largely delivered” according to Alistair Carmichael MP, who said: “I have always believed that it is important for government to listen to the fishing industry whenever catches and quotas are set. The industry representatives set clear and challenging targets for our negotiating team and I am pleased to see that a strong UK team has very largely delivered on what was asked of them.”

Quotas for several other key stocks that are shared with Norway in the North Sea such as cod, haddock, whiting and mackerel – will not be decided upon until after the New Year due to the failure so far to reach agreement on North East Atlantic mackerel share allocations with Iceland and the Faroes.