Marine / SIC funding package worth nearly £180k to help keep shellfish sector sustainable
LOCAL management of inshore shellfish fisheries can continue for another year after Shetland Islands Council approved support funding worth almost £180,000.
The funding package was approved by councillors in private during a meeting of the full council on 22 June. At the time the council’s chief executive Maggie Sandison said she was not at liberty to discuss exempt reports.
The £177,640 grant will be administered by the Shetland Shellfish Management Organisation (SSMO), which controls shellfish catching and stock research inside the six-mile limit.
The council funding will help pay for stock assessments and research by marine scientists at UHI Shetland costing £197,000, including a scallop survey at sea this summer.
SSMO chair Robert Williamson said: “We’re very grateful for this. It’s good to have forward-thinking councillors who see the value in Shetland managing its own shellfish resources.
“And they see the merits in the excellent scientific research done locally for over 20 years now to help keep stocks healthy for the future.
“I would say that the SSMO is a good working example of locals managing a local resource successfully for the benefit of local folk – maybe something we should be doing more of in Shetland.”
Under powers devolved to the SSMO by the Scottish Government, fishermen require a special licence each year to catch and sell shellfish from Shetland’s inshore waters.
There are currently 106 inshore boats operated by SSMO licence holders.
The organisation’s inshore co-ordinator John Robertson said that part of the SIC grant will also go towards the SSMO’s running costs.
“It’s a relief to get council backing again this year. The SSMO is still looking to raise more funds to help retain Shetland’s prestigious sustainable shellfish endorsements for a few more years.
“We have the only scallop and brown crab fisheries in Europe certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council.
“And the Marine Conservation Society has advised shoppers that Shetland produces the only sustainable brown crab in the UK.”
Shetland Islands Council’s chair of the development committee, councillor Dennis Leask, has been contacted for further details.
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