Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 10 December 2013
10 Dec 2013 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Fisheries Negotiations
Presiding Officer, I sometimes think that we ought to recall Parliament on Christmas day to hold this debate, such is the degree of good will that emanates from all sides of the chamber towards the minister as he sets about these difficult negotiations. I hope that you will not take that advice too seriously.
I have listened carefully to the debate, which as always has been a good one, but it is difficult not to remain deeply concerned about the international situation and the recent international negotiations, because those are the negotiations that really set the quota for stocks of mutual interest.
As has been highlighted vividly, not least by Tavish Scott, we now appear to have reached a stalemate with Norway, Iceland and the Faroes in relation to the north-east Atlantic mackerel. That will mean that total allowable catches for jointly managed stocks will not be set until well into the new year, as the cabinet secretary said in his opening remarks, leaving our fishermen facing yet more uncertainty about their livelihood. It cannot be right, surely, that countries increase their allocations unilaterally year on year and simply refuse to co-operate when it is time to get round the negotiating table. The stalemate has to end, and soon.
On the common fisheries policy itself, the key issue, as other members have said, is surely how the new CFP will actually be implemented. Like everybody else, I am obviously pleased that we have reached an agreement on discards and that the ban is to be phased in gradually, but I am sure that we would all agree that there has to be a commonsense approach to the way in which discards are managed. A total elimination of discards is simply not practical in the very short term. As we have said before on this side of the chamber, simply banning discards is effectively banning the symptom rather than tackling the cause of the problem.
If the discards question is to be solved, a key element must be an increase in TAC, and in that regard we should not underestimate the importance of recognising changing scientific advice. As the North Atlantic Fisheries College Marine Centre in Shetland has recently reported, over the past decade cod stocks in the North Sea have doubled, plaice stocks have trebled and hake stocks have quadrupled, while fishing mortality rates have fallen dramatically year on year.
Although the North Sea is, in some ways, full of fish, the quotas for cod and haddock are now so low that fishermen are sometimes catching their quota within eight weeks and then having to turn to other catches to make a living. The conservation measures put in place by the CFP are therefore in some ways now creating an imbalance in the North Sea. For example, the number of sand eels, to which I think Angus MacDonald referred, has been greatly reduced. There is also displaced effort, which is resulting in too many boats fishing for prawns, for example, while other stocks protected by the cod recovery plan remain plentiful.
The recovery is good news, however, and our fishermen deserve enormous commendation for taking the hard decisions and making the necessary changes to ensure the industry’s viability. Make no mistake: fishermen want nothing more than to make fishing sustainable not just now but for generations to come. They have given up a great deal over the years to bring that about.
We share the cabinet secretary’s concern over ICES’s advice recommending a 9 per cent cut in the North Sea cod quota, particularly when the same advice shows that a 20 per cent increase in the quota would still keep the recovery of the stock on track. I agree that a further cut in quota could lead only to more discarding, given the abundance of cod in our seas. We therefore support the call from the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation to secure an increase in the cod quota for 2014, for the simple reason that it can ensure the continuation of sustainable fishing while reducing discards—I think that that is called a win-win situation.
Fishermen also face a 15 per cent cut in North Sea haddock, which is a mainstay of the Scottish fleet, so it still appears that our fishermen are being penalised even though they are the ones taking the necessary steps to help the industry survive.
Time does not allow me to discuss many other issues that the debate has thrown up, so I will finish by merely quoting the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation:
“The reform of the CFP has been a political process and we are stuck with it... ministers ... now have to deliver workable plans that will protect our industry and ensure a sustainable future for fishing.”
Like other members, we on the Conservative side of the chamber wish the cabinet secretary every success as he seeks to do just that.
16:41
I have listened carefully to the debate, which as always has been a good one, but it is difficult not to remain deeply concerned about the international situation and the recent international negotiations, because those are the negotiations that really set the quota for stocks of mutual interest.
As has been highlighted vividly, not least by Tavish Scott, we now appear to have reached a stalemate with Norway, Iceland and the Faroes in relation to the north-east Atlantic mackerel. That will mean that total allowable catches for jointly managed stocks will not be set until well into the new year, as the cabinet secretary said in his opening remarks, leaving our fishermen facing yet more uncertainty about their livelihood. It cannot be right, surely, that countries increase their allocations unilaterally year on year and simply refuse to co-operate when it is time to get round the negotiating table. The stalemate has to end, and soon.
On the common fisheries policy itself, the key issue, as other members have said, is surely how the new CFP will actually be implemented. Like everybody else, I am obviously pleased that we have reached an agreement on discards and that the ban is to be phased in gradually, but I am sure that we would all agree that there has to be a commonsense approach to the way in which discards are managed. A total elimination of discards is simply not practical in the very short term. As we have said before on this side of the chamber, simply banning discards is effectively banning the symptom rather than tackling the cause of the problem.
If the discards question is to be solved, a key element must be an increase in TAC, and in that regard we should not underestimate the importance of recognising changing scientific advice. As the North Atlantic Fisheries College Marine Centre in Shetland has recently reported, over the past decade cod stocks in the North Sea have doubled, plaice stocks have trebled and hake stocks have quadrupled, while fishing mortality rates have fallen dramatically year on year.
Although the North Sea is, in some ways, full of fish, the quotas for cod and haddock are now so low that fishermen are sometimes catching their quota within eight weeks and then having to turn to other catches to make a living. The conservation measures put in place by the CFP are therefore in some ways now creating an imbalance in the North Sea. For example, the number of sand eels, to which I think Angus MacDonald referred, has been greatly reduced. There is also displaced effort, which is resulting in too many boats fishing for prawns, for example, while other stocks protected by the cod recovery plan remain plentiful.
The recovery is good news, however, and our fishermen deserve enormous commendation for taking the hard decisions and making the necessary changes to ensure the industry’s viability. Make no mistake: fishermen want nothing more than to make fishing sustainable not just now but for generations to come. They have given up a great deal over the years to bring that about.
We share the cabinet secretary’s concern over ICES’s advice recommending a 9 per cent cut in the North Sea cod quota, particularly when the same advice shows that a 20 per cent increase in the quota would still keep the recovery of the stock on track. I agree that a further cut in quota could lead only to more discarding, given the abundance of cod in our seas. We therefore support the call from the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation to secure an increase in the cod quota for 2014, for the simple reason that it can ensure the continuation of sustainable fishing while reducing discards—I think that that is called a win-win situation.
Fishermen also face a 15 per cent cut in North Sea haddock, which is a mainstay of the Scottish fleet, so it still appears that our fishermen are being penalised even though they are the ones taking the necessary steps to help the industry survive.
Time does not allow me to discuss many other issues that the debate has thrown up, so I will finish by merely quoting the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation:
“The reform of the CFP has been a political process and we are stuck with it... ministers ... now have to deliver workable plans that will protect our industry and ensure a sustainable future for fishing.”
Like other members, we on the Conservative side of the chamber wish the cabinet secretary every success as he seeks to do just that.
16:41
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Elaine Smith)
Lab
The next item of business is a debate on motion S4M-08540, in the name of Richard Lochhead, on the end-year fisheries negotiations.15:39
The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment (Richard Lochhead)
SNP
We meet after what has been another eventful year for our important fishing industry.We started this year by breathing a sigh of relief after the negotiation...
Tavish Scott (Shetland Islands) (LD)
LD
Will the cabinet secretary update the Parliament on the status of the European Union-Norway talks?
Richard Lochhead
SNP
Yes. I will come on to that very important point on the shared stocks between the EU and Norway if the member will just hold on.I mentioned that the first ro...
Claire Baker (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Lab)
Lab
I welcome today’s debate in advance of the end-of-year fishing negotiations. It gives us the opportunity to speak in the interests of Scottish fishing and to...
Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
I enjoy the annual opportunity to participate in this debate, with its traditional role of sending the minister off to the European fisheries negotiation wit...
Tavish Scott (Shetland Islands) (LD)
LD
The EU fisheries talks next week may not agree much. The continuing failure of international discussions involving the EU, Norway, the Faroes and Iceland wil...
Angus MacDonald (Falkirk East) (SNP)
SNP
One thing that can definitely be agreed by all interested parties is that there is a general consensus that cod stocks are recovering in the North Sea. That ...
Lewis Macdonald (North East Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
There are wide areas of agreement on many aspects of the negotiations and it is right that the members who lodged the motion and amendments have highlighted ...
Stewart Stevenson (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (SNP)
SNP
PG Wodehouse used to have Bertie Wooster insist that Jeeves had some fish when a particularly knotty problem had to be dealt with, so I naturally had fish fo...
Christian Allard (North East Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
I declare an interest, in that I have worked for the past 20 years in the Scottish fishing industry in Aberdeen, in North East Scotland, the region that I ha...
Jenny Marra (North East Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
As a member for North East Scotland, I am glad to speak in the debate and to support the Labour amendment. The common fisheries policy was set up to address ...
Rob Gibson (Caithness, Sutherland and Ross) (SNP)
SNP
I am pleased to take part in the debate. The end-year fishing negotiations are vital to many communities that I and many other members represent. The Scottis...
Tavish Scott
LD
Alex Johnstone started his contribution by saying that this annual debate is Parliament’s way of sending off the minister with great support. It did not alwa...
Stewart Stevenson
SNP
Will the member take an intervention?
Tavish Scott
LD
I will just finish my point. Monkfish is the most valuable species to the Shetland fleet, being worth approximately £4 million out of the £60 million of fish...
Stewart Stevenson
SNP
Like those of Tavish Scott, my constituents are heavily dependent on the fishing industry. I wonder whether, in light of the fact that our minister is one of...
Tavish Scott
LD
I do not in any way doubt the cabinet secretary’s involvement or his expertise, as he has taken part for many years. However, my knowledge of the process has...
Alex Fergusson (Galloway and West Dumfries) (Con)
Con
Presiding Officer, I sometimes think that we ought to recall Parliament on Christmas day to hold this debate, such is the degree of good will that emanates f...
Claudia Beamish (South Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
This time last year I stood in the chamber to debate the annual EU fisheries negotiations, and I expressed concerns about the state of our shared European fi...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
Before I call the cabinet secretary to close the debate, I once again remind members that the debates this afternoon are on a follow-on basis. Members who wi...
Richard Lochhead
SNP
Once again, this has been a helpful and useful debate prior to the end-of-year bun fight that takes place in Brussels every December. These annual fisheries ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
Eight minutes.
Richard Lochhead
SNP
Okay. Eight more minutes or eight minutes altogether?
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
Eight minutes in total.
Richard Lochhead
SNP
Thank you.The talks between the EU and Norway are therefore crucial; let me now turn to members’ comments on the cod recovery plan. Lewis Macdonald made a ve...
Liam McArthur (Orkney Islands) (LD)
LD
The cabinet secretary will be well aware that, in going into negotiations, the more priorities that one has, the weaker one’s position. A number of members h...
Richard Lochhead
SNP
I am happy to confirm that, as I alluded to in my opening remarks, I will not support any deal that leads to any cut in days at sea for the Scottish fleet. I...