News / CFP reform flawed
THE REFORM of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), voted through by the European parliament on Tuesday, has been condemned as an impossible law that could be disastrous for Scotland’s fishing industry.
Chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, Bertie Armstrong, said the new CFP was fundamentally flawed despite all its good intentions.
His views were not shared by Scottish and UK politicians, who celebrated the deal as a major step in the right direction.
The CFP reform, to be implemented as of 1 January, will bring the much discussed ban on discards and introduce a degree of regional control over fisheries management.
But Armstrong said that the industry was now in a situation “where the improbable and in some cases the impossible has been enshrined in law”.
He added: “Whilst the principle of regional control has been agreed, ‘exclusive competence’ – in other words control in Brussels – remains enshrined in the treaties.
“Without a highly unlikely change in these treaties, regional control will be restricted to advice-giving, and never decision-making, which takes us back to right where we are now.
“Similarly, discards are supported by nobody, least of all the fishing industry, but at the moment there is absolutely no indication on how a discards ban could be implemented.
“The aspiration is all very well, but trying to develop a workable management regime, especially in the complex mixed stock fisheries that exist around our coasts, is an unbelievably difficult challenge.
“If it is not done right and without the right degree of flexibility, then the economic implications for our fishing fleet could be disastrous.”
But Scottish fishing minister Richard Lochhead said: “This follows more than three years of difficult negotiations, in which we worked to ensure that Scotland’s voice was heard at the top table in Brussels during the process and helped shape the final agreement.
“The end of discarding is an important step and further regionalisation will ensure important decisions are taking closer to home.
“It’s far from perfect and many challenges remain but this political agreement is of fundamental importance to Scotland’s fishermen and is a step forward.”
And Scottish secretary and northern isles MP Alistair Carmichael added: “The vote marks a significant step forward for the CFP.
“It reflects the hard work the UK government has undertaken in Brussels to reform a broken system for the benefit of our fleets in Scotland and the rest of the UK.
“It is great to get political agreement on laws that will make a huge difference to the sustainability of our fisheries, now we need to work with industry to ensure that the new laws can be practically implemented by Scottish fleets.”
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