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Fisheries conservation scheme extended
08/11/2007
Scotland is extending its pilot voluntary closure scheme to conserve North Sea cod stocks - because of its initial success.
The joint initiative developed by the industry and the Scottish Government will now be extended to protect the future breeding stock of cod.
This means that from today it will cover larger juvenile fish up to 50 cm. The previous limit was 35 cm.
Skippers at sea will continue to sound the alert when they encounter stocks of small cod.
Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, said:
"The new Scottish Government pledged a fresh start for Scottish fisheries and I am very pleased that this fresh thinking has already reaped rewards. This scheme is the first of its kind in Europe.
"Reports from the industry so far show that vessels have been actively avoiding areas where undersized cod are likely to be in abundance. These responsible actions have resulted in no need for a formal closure to date.
"There will be a full evaluation of the pilot at the end of the year. These responsible actions by Scotland's fishermen allow us to be in a position to extend the scheme for the last two months of the pilot to help safeguard the future breeding stock of North Sea cod.
"This voluntary scheme shows that Scottish fishermen are setting an excellent example to the rest of Europe."
Helen McLachlan, Marine Policy Officer for WWF Scotland, said:
"WWF welcome the move to increase the size of cod that will trigger a closure under the real time closure scheme to 50cm.
"This makes sense as fish larger than the original trigger size of 35cm are not mature and yet still able to be caught in potentially large numbers.
"We hope that these amendments will have the desired effect of improving the avoidance of immature cod, thus allowing them to survive to breed and contribute to the cod population in future years. This, alongside other measures such as improved selectivity and area avoidance, will be key in securing future stock recovery."
Bertie Armstrong, Chief Executive of the Scottish Fishermens' Federation, said:
"It is important to see this important measure as one strand in a whole bundle of positive, proactive initiatives to make sure that the cod recovery now underway takes real hold. Innovative changes to net components, verification of cod avoidance by use of an observer programme and development of coherent strategies by area all part of the Scottish fishing industry's much wider approach to sustainable fishing."
Under the scheme, the Scottish Government closes off areas that are found to have high abundance of under-sized cod. This is defined as a minimum of 60 undersized cod per hour's fishing effort. There will be a maximum level of nine closure areas (each 15 square miles). Each closure will be as a result of three positive counts taken.
Commercial Impact Zones (CIZs) each with a radius of 45 miles will also be introduced to address economic and viability issues raised by the industry. There will be no more than three closed areas within a CIZ. This is to ensure that fishermen in any one geographical area are not unfairly disadvantaged.
The scheme is voluntary and not subject to enforcement action. Other UK administrations and EU member states will be advised of closures and vessels encouraged to observe them. The industry will be encouraged to notify the existence for information purposes where they have encountered high numbers of undersized cod by
phone +44(0)131-271-9700,
fax +44(0)131-244-6471
Email: UKFCC@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
Information on sample results and closed areas will be published on the Marine Directorate website.
Sampling will be undertaken by the SFPA and independent observers. Fisheries Research Service observers shall seek the permission of the vessel master before any notifications are made. The area of application shall be ICES Zones IV & VI.
Currently it is an offence to retain on board, land or offer for sale cod below marketable size (35cm and above) so if caught they are discarded dead back into the sea. It is not intended that the voluntary scheme will replace existing statutory closures. These are defined on the basis of historic assessment of cod stocks rather than current actual experience.
There are two such areas in Scottish waters - the Clyde and the North West Scotland Windsock area.