Go-ahead for fisheries group pilots
Inshore Fisheries Group (IFG) pilots, backed by £300,000 funding, will run in the Outer Hebrides, the Clyde and the South East, it was announced today.
The fishing industry will run the pilots with the help of co-ordinators who will be funded by the Scottish Government.
Speaking at a meeting of the West Coast fisheries industry in Glasgow, Rural Affairs and Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said:
"I am pleased to announce our commitment to setting up Inshore Fisheries Groups (IFGs) in Scotland. We have one of the largest coastlines in Europe and extensive inshore fishing grounds.
"We must ensure that the inshore fishing industry have the appropriate mechanisms to make sure their voice is heard. The aim of Inshore Fisheries Groups is to do just that.
"The pilots will start in the New Year and will be evaluated on a continuous basis. We will continue to work with the Scottish Inshore Fisheries Advisory Group throughout this process."
"I believe IFGs can and will create a vibrant future for this important fisheries industry and the fishing communities they sustain."
Mr Lochhead also announced work that will be taken forward early in 2008 to develop strategies for scallops and crab and lobster industries. He said:
"I am also pleased to announce the forthcoming development of a Scottish Scallop Management Strategy. The Strategy will be in line with our overarching aims of ensuring a sustainable and profitable fishing industry. It will be a multi-prong strategy aimed at addressing concerns over regulation, stock levels, marketing and the marine environment whilst at the same time ensuring a high quality product maximises the returns from catch."
"The long awaited review of the Scottish scallop technical conservation legislation will form integral part of the Strategy. Our support for product traceability initiatives will also complement this work. We will set up a Working Group within the Sea Fisheries Council, drawing from the existing Scottish Scallop Advisory Group to steer the work. The first meeting of the Group is likely to be held early in the new year.
"The crab and lobster fisheries are also tremendously important for many Scottish inshore fishing communities. The fisheries have done well in recent years, but there is more that can be done to fulfil the sector's real potential for further growth. Early in 2008 we will convene a new group to take forward a crab and lobster strategy for Scotland. The group will comprise industry representatives from the catching and processing sectors, scientists, Seafood Scotland and other relevant bodies."
The Scottish Government believes that Inshore Fisheries Groups need to:
- Allow all fishermen to participate on an open and transparent basis whilst keeping bureaucracy to a minimum
- Balance the interests of small and large operators, and working closely with the Scottish Government be a channel for ideas and approaches developed locally to be shared nationally
- Have an important role to develop management plans for the enhancement and development of inshore fisheries.
- Generate legislative proposals for the better management of the inshore, develop them in line with due process and principles of best practice in consultation to be considered by the Scottish Government and, where appropriate, taken forward to the Scottish Parliament for scrutiny
- Be properly supported with technical advice and work constructively with wider social, economic and environmental interests
£300,000 funding has been made available and the pilots will run in the Outer Hebrides, the Clyde and South East and will start in the New Year.