The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) has launched a new website in a bid to counter the “inaccurate” and negative portrayal of the Scottish fishing industry.
The website, www.fishingforthetruth.co.uk, aims to provide a factual information resource on fishing that will highlight the increasing size of the majority of stocks in the north-east Atlantic.
Bertie Armstrong, chief executive, SFF, said: “Our hardworking fishermen have an incredibly difficult and often dangerous job in putting the seafood on our tables, yet in recent years the industry has come under totally inaccurate and unwarranted criticism from doomsters and self-appointed armchair ‘experts’ about alleged overfishing, environmental impact and declining stocks.”
It also aims to underline the numerous conservation initiatives undertaken by the industry that has heralded stocks’ recovery, such as real-time area closures and technical alterations to nets that are significantly reducing discards.
The website also looks at the importance of fish and shellfish as a national food resource that provides an important source of economic revenue through exports.
“We hope that our new website will go some way in helping to set the record straight and highlight to the consumer the good news about our fish stocks and the commitment of our fishermen in their sustainable harvesting,” Mr Armstrong added.
