The message came after the release of a comprehensive survey that has reviled a major slump in the UK industry’s profits to the extent that fishermen’s earnings during 2001 were less than a third of what they were in 1998.
The comprehensive survey conducted by Seafish found that between 1998 and 2001 vessel earnings fell by an estimated 25% and crew earnings by 29%.
Vessels profits also fell by 75% in some areas of the UK, with the hardest hit areas being the south west of the UK and the English Channel beam trawlers, as well as sectors targeting the main whitefish species in the North Sea, Irish Sea and west coast of Scotland.
But Hamish Morrison told World Fishing that the survey had been conducted in 2001 at the industry’s lowest point.
“With that in mind, things can only get better, the industry has done everything it possibly can to move forward positively.”
He added: “We were the ones that promoted the de-commissioning scheme and had to drag the Government kicking and screeming to put up the money for it.”
He said that suggestions in the survey that future conservation projects could be self-financed by the industry, were ‘foolish’.
