NFFO: Committee has missed point over fishing quota
National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisation (NFFO) chief executive Barrie Deas believes that the environment, food and rural affairs committee has not addressed the real issues over fishing quotas:
“The committee has gone off at a tangent and they’re not really addressing the core issues, ie that there’s not enough quota.
“They’re focussing on slipper skippers and yes there are skippers that fall into that category but most quota is attached to vessels and most quota which is not attached to vessels is a temporary arrangement.
“For instance if somebody is building a new boat they want to park their quota and let others use it for rental until they’re ready. I don’t see that there is a big bogeyman there.
“The system does need to change and Defra are broadly on the right track but they need some more thinking on how to get there.
“The alternative we’ve put forward is that you have a decommissioning program that takes vessels out whilst leaving the quota. You can then use that quota to settle the issues facing the under-tens.
“There’s a system which works for the industry at large, the problem is that in the past decommissioning schemes have involved public expenditure and there is a problem there at the moment. However there is an underspend in the European Fisheries Fund that we could draw on, or private charitable foundations.
“The major issue is the problems faced by the under-ten metre fleet. The over-tens operate on the basis of producer organisations which have quota management rights and that gives them a lot more flexibility to trade, providing their members with quota throughout the year.
“The government’s suggestion is that the under-tens should be given the option to move in that direction and we agree. There are anxieties when you open quota to trade and it is necessary to have various safeguards in place.
“The Danish have done it through a one-way valve system, so a small boat can buy quota from another small boat, or a small boat can buy quota from a big boat, but a big boat can’t buy quota from a small boat.”
