The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) has criticised the Shadow Fisheries Minister, Tom Harris, for his failure to understand his brief on the fishing industry.
The SFF insists that Mr Harris failed to understand the many problems facing the Scottish fishing industry. The attack was launched following the minister’s argument that fishermen should be treated like ‘drug dealers’ in reference to prosecutions brought against Scottish fishermen a number of years ago.
Bertie Armstrong, chief executive, SFF, told World Fishing & Aquaculture: "The forthcoming reform of the Common Fisheries Policy is the most crucial as it will set the stall for fisheries management for the foreseeable future. A key aim of the Scottish fishing industry is for the introduction of much greater regional control where the stakeholders involved in fisheries can make decisions that reflect the true status of stocks in specific areas – rather than a crude blanket approach to fisheries regulation. Our greatest concern here is the continuing automatic reductions in the number of days that fishing vessels can put to sea as part of the EU’s widely discredited Cod Recovery Plan."
He added: "The reform of the CFP needs to be bold and courageous, and at the heart of it should be the introduction of regional control. Scottish fishermen are committed to a sustainable future, but we need the correct management regime in place for this to happen."
Mr Armstrong concluded: “He has not listened to the briefings provided for him and has now made any confidence building with the industry a near impossibility.”
