miércoles, 5 de diciembre de 2012

Cod plan will lead to 'obscene waste' says Fisheries Secretary - STV Local

More dead fish will end up dumped at sea because of a flawed plan aimed at protecting cod stocks, the Fisheries Secretary has said.

The Cod Recovery Plan, agreed in Brussels in 2008, is a "legal straightjacket which threatens to cause yet more obscene waste in our seas", according to Richard Lochhead.

The European Commission has "stubbornly insisted on its rigid requirement" to impose further automatic cuts in days at sea for Scottish fishermen this year.

Despite an increase in cod stocks, the recovery plan's "rigid rules" also seeks to cut the amount of the fish that can be taken from the North Sea by 20% in 2013.

Cod numbers are "steadily recovering", having more than doubled in the past six years, said Mr Lochhead as he addressed MSPs before crucial European fishing quote talks.

Scottish fishermen have made the greatest reduction in cod discards in Europe, according to Mr Lochhead.

"Imposing a 20% quota cut is simply a recipe for massive discards."

If the cut is imposed, fishermen will "not be able to avoid catching evermore plentiful cod for which they have no quota and will be forced, against their will, to dump dead fish back in the sea".

He told MSPs: "The Cod Recovery Plan is supposed to promote conservation but threatens to leave long and winding trails of discarded fish across our seas."

Maintaining the existing quota is a "top priority" at European negotiations this month.

"I'll be demanding a way out of the legal straightjacket which threatens to cause yet more obscene waste in our seas.

"As usual, we'll have our work cut out fighting to protect Scotland's position."

With negotiations over how much countries are allowed to fish often going on into the early hours, Mr Lochhead said: "We can expect these crucial decisions to be taken by bleary-eyed ministers at some ungodly hour of the early morning in Brussels, following hours of unseemly horse trading.

"I'm clear that's not the way in which Europe should govern its fisheries. And that's why a radical overhaul of the Common Fisheries Policy is so vital.

"We have got to move away from Brussels-based micromanagement and bring decision-making closer to home, to those who best know our rich and diverse waters."

The Common Fisheries Policy has "failed Scotland", Mr Lochhead said, claiming that it is a "similar story" with international mackerel negotiations involving Iceland and the Faroes.

For the past five years these two countries set their own "arbitrary and irresponsible quotas", according to the minister.

Negotiations have failed to resolve this situation so far, and the Fisheries Secretary said he will "not be held to ransom".

He told MSPs: "I've made clear we won't resume talks until they come to the table with realistic and concrete proposals on which we can have a sensible discussion."

At the same time as Iceland and the Faroes are setting their own quotas, European Commission lawyers told Scotland to "give up an extra share of the mackerel quota allocated for 2013", which Mr Lochhead said was absurd.

"We must be guided by natural justice, fairness and common sense rather than the arcane reasoning of Brussels lawyers. We simply cannot reward bad behaviour by giving up this extra share."

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