Peterhead Port Authority (PPA) boss John Wallace has warned that a return to prosperity for the fishing industry is likely to be a “slow and difficult journey”.
But he also said green shoots of recovery ought to secure and guide the sector to “the success it deserves and provide for the generations to come”.
And as he prepares to bow out from his role as PPA chief executive, which he has held since Peterhead Harbour Trust and Peterhead Bay Authority (PBA) merged in January 2006, he said Europe’s busiest white-fish port had taken “robust and positive measures” to cope with the controversial discard ban.
Mr Wallace, who was previously chief executive at PBA and before that chairman of the harbour board at Fraserburgh, added the Blue Toon port would be in a position to “comfortably accommodate all demands arising from discards, both from those (boats) landing directly … or our customers who consign their fish”.
He will step down in July and his successor will take the helm as the port steams ahead with a £50million scheme to deepen the harbour and build a new auction hall.
Mr Wallace said years of savage cuts in quotas and days at sea in order to protect stocks seemed to be paving the way for better times ahead for the fishing industry.
He added: “We always anticipated that the climb back to prosperity and sustainability, primarily for the demersal (white-fish) sector but also pelagic, would be a slow and difficult journey.
“Those of us with decades of experience in this industry have witnessed several cataclysmic events, which we never believed we could recover from.
“Many dedicated and determined fishermen saw all of their efforts culminate in the scrapping of their livelihoods.
“At the start of 2015, for the first time in a long time, we sensed that perhaps the tide was turning.
“Perhaps the winds of change were beginning to be recognised in Brussels, and this resulted in a loosening of the grip on an austerity regime throughout the fishing industry that knew no equal.
“Such a description is fundamental to setting the scene and stage for what can be achieved this year at the EU talks and for the years ahead.”
Mr Wallace said he was optimistic this week’s talks in Brussels would result in a deal supported by a “strong deck of cards”.
He added: “I have full confidence in our Scottish Fisheries Minister, Richard Lochhead, to deliver for our sector the resource and quota our industry has managed, sacrificed for and now richly deserves.
“I have now enjoyed over 30 years at both Fraserburgh and Peterhead and it is comforting to witness this harbinger of fresh hope and green shoots that can now secure and guide this industry to success … and provide for the generations to come.”