Nets of foreign f ishing boats ‘polluting seas’

SCOTS fishermen have accused foreign fleets of ‘aggressive behaviour’ and polluting the seas with plastic netting.

Scores of fishing skippers in Shetland say they have been left with costly repairs due to ‘predominantly Spanish and French’ fishermen.

The Shetland Fishermen’s Association has blamed the issue on a lack of communication between the vessels.

It says huge lengths of gill net and longline – a fine, plastic twine – have been left by the foreign boats to hinder locals.

Many gill netters leave their nets in position when they travel south to Ullapool, Ross-shire, to land, denying access to local boats that have fished in the area for decades.

The dispute comes as the row over fishing rights around the remote outcrop of Rockall continues between Scotland and Ireland.

The skipper of the Alison Kay, James Anderson from Shetland, said: ‘We’ve been fishing here for the past ten years, but this year there was a line of three boats with enough nets to cover the whole area.

‘All in all there were ten German-flagged Spanish boats with no track record of fishing here taking up, I reckon, 200 square miles.

‘In years gone by they may have been here, but there were fewer of them and they were much further out, much deeper. Now they’re aggressive, telling us, “This is the area we fish, keep clear for 90 days”.’

He added: ‘We’ve lost a lot of fishing because of this, and because they leave the gear, we get caught in it and have to haul it up. It’s a right mess.

‘The Icelandic and Norwegian governments have severely limited this type of fishing and it’s about time the UK and Scottish governments did so too.’

Gordon Irvine, skipper of the Defiant, said the number of gill netters and longliners in local waters had doubled in the past two years.

Mr Irvine added: ‘The problem is their attitude. They think we can just move on, but they shoot their gear wherever and many times it boxes us in and we have to steam clear. If we tried that off Spain or France, there would be an outcry.’

The Defiant had to make for Baltasound on the Shetland island of Unst, and employ divers to remove longlines last year after its propeller was fouled.

The Shetland Fishermen’s Association said in a statement: ‘The problem is being exacerbated by a lack of proper communication and often aggressive behaviour by predominantly Spanish and French skippers.’

The body’s executive officer, Simon Collins, said: ‘At a time when the public is concerned about the amount of plastic dumped in the sea, it is galling to be forced off local fishing grounds by vessels that leave so much rubbish behind them.

‘We urge the Scottish Government to regulate these vessels’ access to our waters as soon as it can do.’

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Scotland continues to lead the way in protecting our marine environments and we are committed to improving monitoring as outlined in the Programme for Government.

‘In the event of an EU exit, our relationship with foreign fleets will be decided by negotiators.’