Scottish Fishermen Request Quota Allocation Amendments

Ensuring fish quotas are managed for the common good is at the centre of a newly launched consultation between the Scottish Government and representatives of fishing communities.

Fish quotas are the amount of fish that may be landed by fishing vessels. The Scottish Government is responsible for allocating quotas to Scottish fishing vessels.

This consultation is being held because fishermen have raised concerns about the present system of allocation, which is based on fixed allocations of quota to individual fishing licences.

Fishermen and others have voiced concerns that the present system is not providing enough support to active fishermen or to family and smaller local catching businesses.

The Scottish Government is looking at what improvements can be made to the current system, which has been in place since 1999, for new entrants to get into the industry more easily.

This consultation will look at the current system and what, if any, improvements can be made to it to ensure it pursues the Government’s aims.

The Government’s aims are to:

• Ensure that Scottish fishing communities retain their fishing rights, now and in the future, and that fishing rights remain a Scottish national asset;
• Promote a shared approach where all concerned are involved in managing Scottish quotas
• Encourage quotas to be held by those who can fish them, and to prevent them from becoming a speculative asset;
• Provide a stable regulatory environment for the Scottish fishing fleet, for those investing in its future, and for fishing communities and;
• Encourage the growth of businesses and the regeneration of the fleet, and to keep down the cost of quotas.

Scottish Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead said: “It should concern us all when fishermen claim more money to be made by acquiring and leasing out quota than there is in actually catching and selling fish.

It is my strongly held conviction that, given their relative scarcity, quotas must be managed in the common interest, and in a way that better provides active fishermen with the access to quota that they need, both now and in the future.”

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Press Release; June 27, 2014; Image: SFF