Brexit

Mention the words Brexit and fisheries and the words sell out and betrayal might follow soon after. The vague Brexit rhetoric recently of taking back control really meant something to British fishermen and coastal communities. The time has come, they say, to reclaim an industry that Ted Heath and his Conservative Government handed over to Brussels in return for membership of ‘The Club’. Speak to anyone from a fishing community and they will tell you: “Ted Heath was guilty of pulling the trigger that caused the death of the UK’s fishing industry and the demise of hundreds of coastal communities around the UK.”

Theresa May and her Conservative Government now have an opportunity to rectify the wrongs of the past. It’s hers for the taking. But she needs to be bold. And brave.  There is simplicity of fishing compared to other industries. We are an island!  We are a maritime nation! We are a fishing nation! A good or bad deal will be easily recognisable.

The European Community was created in the backdrop of war. The European Coal and Steel Community, initially between the French and the Germans, aimed to pool resources and more profoundly, to ensure that another war between European neighbours would never happen again. As the EU has grown, the shared and common values have become apparent. Look at how Britain’s relationship with Russia has deteriorated over the past few weeks and the immediate response of solidarity from all EU member states.

Unquestionably, there is a role for unity and cooperation between European allies. But in 1973 the UK was asked to share one of its most precious natural resources. Britain’s waters became Europe’s waters overnight, a shared resource. The British Isles, the UK and Ireland combined are home to 60% of EU waters, the most fertile waters within the EU’s control. I can’t think of another country in the world that has handed over control of a natural resource in the same way we have.

We now have an incredible opportunity to take back full control of our waters.  As we negotiate our exit we have to accept there are a number of issues at play. Financial passporting, aviation, new trade deals, cooperation on security, the question of a border separating Northern Ireland and the Republic.  What is the best outcome for Britain? What is the deal that will allow the UK to rebuild its position in the world order?  Where does fisheries rank in the order of political priorities?

On reflection, similar pressures apply now as they did in the 1970s.  But we don’t have to make the same mistake twice. Politicians traded away the UK’s fishing grounds to the detriment of coastal communities up and down the United Kingdom in order to join ‘The Club’. Our national heritage as a maritime nation disappeared. There would be a sad irony if, in order to exit the same ‘Club’, we rolled over and agreed to keep the status quo. Imagine being an independent coastal state like Norway or Iceland, without the freedom or levers to negotiate with the EU. It would be galling and not at all what the Brexiteers promised us in the May and June of 2016.

I was in Aberdeen just before the referendum when fishing minister, George Eustice, shared a platform with Nigel Farage. “Brexit will offer fishermen a great opportunity”, they both told us. “We will finally have the opportunity to leave the Common Fisheries Policy”, was the promise they made.

The tough negotiations are due to take place between now and September. It may be diplomatically difficult for Theresa May to disappoint her European counterparts in these negotiations, however, it will be even harder to explain to a nation why taking back control isn’t taking back control at all. Just more of the same.

Written by Mike Park – CEO

 

New Job

Well, that’s me over 2 months into my role at SWFPA.  For those that don’t know me, the bulk of my career has seen me heavily involved in and managing;

  • Research vessel demersal surveys
  • Observer sampling on commercial vessels
  • Sampling of landings at ports and factories.

It is with this background that I spent my first few weeks attending Benchmark Workshops at the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES).  ICES advice for fisheries is based on annual fish stock assessments with the methodology for these assessments being evaluated every 3 – 5 years in a benchmark process. The aim being to have a consensus agreement on assessment methodology that is to be used in future update assessments.

However, the outcome of these meetings tended to demonstrate that success in advancing the methodologies is dependent on the input of the relevant member states with direct interest in the relevant stocks. For example, several anglerfish stocks have now been moved from a Data Limited Stock (DLS) classification to being fully assessed whereas Northern Shelf Anglerfish stocks remain as a Data Limited Stock with annual advice based on the outcomes of the industry / science surveys.  The DLS process incorporates a precautionary approach that limits advice change to 20%, a situation that many believe has resulted in catch advice not reflecting the state of the stock.

The clear message that I took from these workshops was the need for industry to engage at the earliest opportunity in the process as reduced resources at Marine Scotland Science appeared to hamper provision of data and meaningful dialogue with stakeholders pre-benchmark.

During the workshops, SWFPA stressed the willingness of industry to engage at the earliest opportunity and, more importantly, our desire to contribute to provision of data, information and science that will help provide robust stock advice for the stocks that we depend on.

Having attended recent SWFPA Committee meetings, members were quite clear that we engage directly with Marine Scotland Science with West of Scotland cod and whiting being obvious stocks that could benefit from additional information on stock structure and improved spatial information on catches.

In the coming months, I will be liaising with staff at the Marine Laboratory to investigate how SWFPA fishermen can help address the weaknesses and data shortfalls that currently hinder stock assessment.

Written by Kenny Coull – Fisheries Policy Officer