Fishing ban ‘draconian and purely political’
Industry chiefs warn communities will be destroyed
‘Under threat like never before’
COASTAL communities will be destroyed unless ‘draconian’ plans to ban fishing across vast swathes of the country are ditched, industry leaders have said.
Under SNP-Green coalition proposals, sections of the sea would be designated Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) by 2026 in an effort to ‘guard against biodiversity loss’.
But the industry fears the plans are ‘purely political’ and questioned why they are being implemented ‘when stocks are no less now than they were 40 years ago’.
Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon was fiercely criticised yesterday as she opened the UK’s only fishing industry conference in Aberdeen. She said HPMAs are intended to protect marine ecosystems in designated areas to allow them to recover and thrive.
Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) chief executive Elspeth Macdonald said the conservation zones are ‘too big a price for fishermen to pay when they are being introduced for political rather than ecological reasons’.
‘They [the Government] have never been able to justify why they are making these draconian measures,’ she said, ‘and we urge them to rethink these proposals which are causing great concern and anxiety around Scotland’s coast.’
She added: ‘We have shown over many years that we are committed to nature conservation but it has to be founded on evidence, properly and carefully developed with the genuine involvement of stakeholders and balanced alongside sustainable use.’
Ms Macdonald said the Government’s own programme of reviewing HPMAs’ effectiveness was yet to be completed.
She added: ‘Sadly, the Scottish Government’s approach to HPMAs is taking us backwards. Generated from a political agreement with the Scottish Greens, SFF firmly believes that the Government has failed to make its case for HPMAs, and strongly opposes the approach set out in the recent consultation.’
Coupled with the threat from the development of ‘huge offshore wind farms’, she said it was ‘causcommunities ing a spatial squeeze’ that means the industry ‘feels under threat like never before’.
In her opening speech at the 12th annual Scottish Skipper Expo, Ms Gougeon acknowledged the strength of feeling in the industry and challenges it was facing. But she said: ‘Change is needed to help sustain and restore our fisheries for the future and the and people who depend on them.
‘Our knowledge about the impact of human activity on the seabed, the need to guard against biodiversity loss and mitigate against climate change, drives us to seek improvements. This means taking measures to improve our marine environment, but it also requires us to balance the sustainable use of marine resources.’
Skipper David Robertson said: ‘We’ve fished for 40 years for the same type of fish using the same gear and the stocks are no less now than they were 40 years ago. They’re not in decline because we work the ground sensibly.’
He added: ‘We’ll be back to the 1800s and all the old coastal communities will just die.’
Simon Collins, executive officer for Shetland Fishermen’s Association, said it was ‘aghast’ at the proposals. ‘How can any responsible government do something so damaging and crazy?’ he added.