The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation has reacted angrily to the latest advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea on catch opportunities for 2022, saying it is ‘dismayed’ with the advice to reduce limits of North Sea cod by 10%.
In a statement, chief executive Elspeth Macdonald said that the reduction failed to reflect the volumes of cod that fishermen are seeing on the grounds and called the advice ‘desperate news for the industry’.
“No account is being taken of the distribution of different cod stocks within the North Sea and adjacent areas and ICES needs to alter its modelling to take account of such spatial considerations,” she said.
She conceded that such factors were being taken into account but said that progress was slow and interim modelling was inadequate to ensure a fair transition.
“When you add in the fact that there are large increases in total allowable catch limits for other species, namely North Sea haddock and whiting, and serious quota constraints due to the appalling Brexit deal, sound management of these fisheries becomes almost impossible to achieve,” she said.
“Within a mixed fishery, as soon as you have low quotas for cod, you restrict the opportunities for fishermen catching these other key species,” she added.
