Scotland 'mugged' on fishing quotas
Thursday, 21 December 2006 12:00 AM
The new EU fishing quotas have resulted in a 'mugging' for Scotland, the SNP have said.
The 2007 fishing quotas were agreed after a 12-hour meeting involving ministers of EU states last night and resulted in a cut in the quotas for cod and a reduction in the number of days fishermen can work, but an increase in the amount of other fish that can be landed.
UK's fisheries minister Ben Bradshaw labelled the new quotas "a good deal in the circumstances".
EU fisheries minister Joe Borg commented: "The result was a proposal that has been severely criticised by all sides for being too drastic for some and too weak for others.
"Yet despite the difficulties I believe that the agreement reached tonight reinforces our gradual but sustained approach to delivering sustainable fisheries."
Under the 2007 deal, cod quotas are cut by 20 per cent in the west of Scotland and Celtic Sea, and other stock catches cut by 15 per cent, except the North Sea where quotas are reduced 14 per cent.
Cod fishermen will also have the number of days they can spend at sea reduced by seven to ten per cent.
To compensate, hake quotas in south-west England have been increased by 20 per cent, Irish Sea prawns by 17 per cent and mackerel by 13 per cent.
There was a ten per cent quota increase for North Sea and West of Scotland monkfish, a six per cent quota increase for South West England monkfish and the quota for Rockall haddock was increased six-fold.
But the deal was heavily criticised in Scotland.
SNP fisheries spokesman Richard Lochhead: "[Scotland's] fisheries minister Ross Finnie has been powerless to stop Scotland being mugged once again at the annual fisheries negotiations.
"Scottish fishing leaders in Brussels are claming that there was a north-south divide in the UK delegation and UK Minister Ben Bradshaw turned his back on Scotland.
"Scotland has over 70 per cent of the UK fishing industry and 25 per cent of EU waters yet no say over the future of our fishing industry, and we have suffered yet again as a consequence.
"It is utter lunacy to provide the Scots fleet with fishing quota but then take away even more of the days needed to catch it."
UK fisheries minister Ben Bradshaw defended the plan.
"The UK was prepared to go further to protect cod, and nobody is more committed to helping its recovery than we are, but in the face of opposition from other countries we accepted a more modest reduction," he said.
"The impact on our fishing fleet will be more than compensated for by big increases in catches allowed for prawns, haddock, mackerel and monkfish - each of which is already more valuable than cod to our fishermen."
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