A £5m fishing vessel decommissioning scheme for the South West of England opened this week.
The Marine and Fisheries Agency is inviting applications from owners of beam trawlers over 10 metres long which will be affected by cuts in fishing effort required by the agreed long term management plan for Western Channel sole.
The decommissioning scheme gives owners the chance to take a long term business decision on whether to remain in the fishery or diversify.
DEFRA says that Western Channel sole stocks are currently under pressure, and the European Fisheries Council is setting up a plan to manage the fishery's sustainable future. This will require a reduction in fishing effort.
The MFA decommissioning scheme offers vessel owners an opportunity to bid for an amount of money that they would be prepared to accept to decommission their fishing vessels and surrender the associated fishing vessel licences.
Successful applicants will be required to break up their boats and hand in their licences, and claim a payment by 15 November 2007. That payment will be to the value of their bid for decommissioning funds.
The funds are from the European grants programme, Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG) and from the MFA.
Applications will be judged on their value for money, taking account of the vessels' tonnage and both fishing effort and sole catch in Area VIIe.
The scheme follows the industry consultation announced by Fisheries Minister, Ben Bradshaw, on 9 August 2006.
