TheFishSite Latest News
Scottish Fishermen Criticise House of Lords over Fuel Stance
SCOTLAND - The Scottish Fishermen's Federation has hit out at the House of Lords for failing to back them over action in the fuel crisis.The SFF said it welcomed much of the content of a comprehensive House of Lords committee report on the Common Fisheries Policy.
However the federation reacted angrily to the report’s contention that no aid should be given to help fishermen survive the fuel crisis.
SFF chief executive Bertie Armstrong said: "The report draws the general conclusion that EU Member States have been slow to reduce fleet capacity to match the available quota; the solution recommended is to leave the price of fuel to do its own decommissioning of the fleet through bankruptcy and also to direct any aid on additional decommissioning schemes.
"Neither the conclusion nor the solution makes any sense for Scotland - which has actually addressed overcapacity – a fact noted in the body of the report. Our salvation will lie in a mix of short, medium and long term measures.
"We must make a transition to a sustainable future, but do so in a way that retains an industry capable of accessing our wonderful natural resource.
"Being left to the wolves will certainly achieve a reduction in capacity, but it will be in the form of a collapse of areas of the industry plus the infrastructure and communities which support it."
TheFishSite News Desk
Latest Industry News
Tracking the Celtic Cod: Interesting Data Patterns
Malta to Set up Aquaculture Institute in Ondo
'Organic' Fish Label Approved by Advisory Panel- Fish Farmers to Take a Bite From EU Fund
Sowing the Seed of Prawns in Andhra Pradesh
Discovery of Thorny Catfish in Brazil
Irish Approach to Cod Recovery Plan Approved by EC
IMR Hear Abundant Krill in Southern Ocean
Investigating Health Benefits of Seafood in China- Salmon Saviour Honoured by Federation
