Vision of golden age for Girvan fishing fleet
Today Struan Stevenson, right, the Ballantrae-born Conservative Euro MP for Scotland, Senior Vice-President of the Fisheries Committee and his party's spokesman on Fisheries in the European Parliament, writes exclusively for the Gazette on what the future holds in store for Carrick's fishing industry...
SO FAR, so good! Scotland has its first Marine Bill which sets out the parameters for the protection of our seas and coastal zones.
What we need now is a new vision for the future of our fishing industry.
For years I have argued that the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) has been an abject failure.
It has failed to protect fish stocks, over 88 per cent of which are near collapse in EU waters. It has also failed to protect jobs, with thousands of fishermen, processors and land-based workers being thrown on the scrap-heap.
I remember as a boy marvelling at Girvan harbour stuffed with herring boats from pier to pier. You could have walked across the harbour from one side to the other on their decks.
In the winter I used to watch in awe as shoals of porpoises ducked and dived down the Firth of Clyde, past my home in Ballantrae.
They were chasing the herring. At night, the firth twinkled from the lights of the herring fleet. It all ended years ago. The herring stocks disappeared and so did the porpoises. The fishing fleet followed soon after.
But it's not only the fishermen who are to blame for the decline in fish stocks.
The micro-management of fisheries, by an army of bureaucrats based in Brussels, has been a disaster.
De-commissioning, tie-ups, catch restrictions, quota cuts, effort limitation, kilowatt-days, net sizes and a draconian punishment regime, has driven our fishermen to distraction.
Skippers and crew have to sail through a storm of red tape and bureaucracy, before they brave the dangers of our oceans.
Fishing is the most dangerous profession in the world and men and women who risk their lives to put healthy food on our tables deserve better.
The European Commission's Green Paper on CFP reform, which has just begun its legislative passage, offers a glimmer of hope. The Commission has admitted that its management policies have failed. The Green Paper points the way to radical initiatives that will devolve control of fisheries management from the Brussels bureaucrats, handing it over to the stakeholders, the fishermen themselves.
The reform process will not happen overnight, however.
Widespread consultation with the sector, detailed analysis of new policy options and a final definitive White Paper will not be completed until 2012.
We need to survive the next three years if we wish to ensure that we have a modern and well-equipped fleet, ready to meet the demands for more healthy seafood in the future.
Sustainable fishing, protecting our ecosystems, better science, financial stability and a better and safer working environment, are all key components for an improved fisheries policy.
The reality at present is considerably different. Rampant over-fishing, inadequate science, massive discards, large-scale ecosystem damage, poor financial rewards and often dirty and dangerous working conditions are the hallmark of 50 years of the CFP.
Time is running out and the need for dramatic change is evident.
Brussels red tape is strangling the industry. The West of Scotland and Clyde prawn fishermen in particular have a very real concern regarding the cod recovery plan.
Although they are not catching cod, they have so far failed to receive exemption from the terms of the recovery plan.
If this is still the case by January 2010, their days at sea will be cut from a maximum 200 this year to 150 next year on the West Coast.
This would be the last straw for many of them who would be forced out of business.
Quite rightly the Clyde fishermen believe that this is deeply unfair, as there is no question of any of them catching cod and they therefore should have been exempted from these regulations. I am fighting hard in Brussels on their behalf to ensure they achieve an exemption from these draconian regulations.
The European Parliament elected on June 4 this year has 49 per cent of new members. The Fisheries Committee itself has almost an entirely new line-up.
I am proud to have been elected Senior Vice President. Carmen Fraga, the former Fisheries Minister from Spain, has been elected President of the Committee.
Fresh faces may hopefully bring a fresh approach to the many problems that beset our oceans and coastal communities.
I can only hope that with common sense and fisheries management devolved to local fishermen, we may one day see a recovery of the sector and once again see Girvan harbour filled with boats from pier to pier.
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Weather for Girvan
Thursday 17 May 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 6 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 7 C to 11 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: East
