Scotland: Way ahead for inshore fishing
To ensure that inshore fishing in Scotland is sustainable and coordinated, the Scottish Government has said it will support the delivery of a new strategy for the inshore fleet.
In 2009 six Inshore Fisheries Groups (IFGs) were established, to create a partnership approach with local fishermen operating in the six nautical mile limit – which accounts for two thirds of Scottish vessels. Each IFG has now submitted a management plan to Marine Scotland setting out how sustainable fisheries can continue in the long-term.
With £750,000 support over the next three years, the revised strategy will deliver:
- Continued support for the IFGs, focused on the priorities identified in the management plans
- Work to improve the science and data needed for effective fisheries management
- Better engagement with ‘static gear’ fishermen (such as creelers)
- A formal consultation on possible measures to control the number of creels that can be deployed
- A national conference on inshore fishing
Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead said:
“Inshore fishing is vitally important to the Scottish economy, contributing around £72 million in landings and supporting many remote communities. Despite this, inshore fisheries has often stood in the shadows of other fisheries sectors, which is why we’re introducing a revised management approach and building on the foundations that the IFGs have started.
“Looking ahead we need a new strategy that will support inshore fisheries to sustainably develop. Static gear fishermen, often in small boats, account for some 80 per cent of inshore vessels yet we could do more to engage them. That’s why I want to expand the IFG structure to cover the whole of the Scottish coastline, with more flexibility for membership, and arrange a national inshore fisheries conference.”
Inshore Fisheries Groups in Scotland aim to put local fishermen at the heart of decision making. They are designed to allow inshore fishing operators, other fishing interests and wider stakeholders to shape the management of local fisheries.
