2016 EU Fisheries Council - Ian Duncan MEP Reaction - Positive result for fishermen
The Conservative Fisheries Spokesman in the European Parliament, Ian Duncan, has welcomed the results of the annual December Fish quota talks in Brussels. The quota negotiations, which concluded early this morning, sees an increase in quota for many key stocks for the Scottish fleet.
The deal reached by EU Fisheries Ministers sees increased quota for North Sea cod (+17%) and whiting (+17%), both of which will be covered by the landing obligation in 2017.
Many of the key announcements for the Scottish fleet were taken last month at the EU-Norway talks, but the headline figures for the Scottish industry from last night include - North Sea prawns (nephrops) saw an increase of 46% while the West of Scotland prawn quota remains unchanged. Northern monkfish increased by 20%, West coast haddock decreased by 47% while Rockall haddock sees a 45% increase.
Commenting, Ian said:
“I think that the decisions taken last night reflect the improving health of the stocks in the waters around the UK. This is down to the tireless work of fishermen to restore stocks to healthy levels, and it is right that the improvements in the sustainability are recognised in the quotas.
“In the future, it is likely that the Total Allowable Catches for the species of the North Sea will be settled either in a series of bilateral negotiations (UK-EU, Norway-EU and UK-Norway) or in a trilateral negotiation between the three fishing powers.
“The current process often lends itself to achieving unsatisfactory results for our fishermen. Brexit will change this. The UK will not be bound by the Relative Stability Key – the fixed percentage of quota entitlement imposed on all EU countries. UK and Scottish Fishing Ministers will be better placed to get a deal that reflects the needs of the industry.”