Scotland’s fishing quotas must be managed in the national interest, and safeguarding access to our fish quotas for active fishermen and future generations is absolutely essential.
In recent years fish quotas have been increasingly traded in Scotland and across the UK. Since 2008, companies have increased their holdings of Scottish quota by more than a third and English quota has increasingly been sold to foreign companies.
It has become abundantly clear that the cost of leasing this quota for fishermen has become crippling. Throughout last year, my officials and I held 18 quayside conversations the length and breadth of Scotland with hundreds of skippers, and the number one issue that active fishermen wanted to discuss is how our fish quota is allocated and managed. This view is also shared within the processing sector, which is responsible for thousands of jobs across Scotland.
That is the main reason why I have brought forward this consultation on the allocation of fish quotas in Scotland. We’re doing nothing more or less than responding to the pleas made to us by active skippers.
We are keen to work with the entire industry to find a solution to this complicated problem. In the meantime, we have put a moratorium in place to ensure no Fixed Quota Allocation (FQA) leaves Scotland while the consultation process is ongoing. Normal fishing practices will not be disrupted, including leasing and transfer of quotas within Scotland, and will be able to carry on as normal.
The bottom line is I want to see a thriving industry where new fishermen can get a start, enjoy a share in the profits they toil for and, in time, establish their own businesses or join in partnerships through which they can build further success.
I want, in particular, to see strength added to what the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation called “the unique nature of the Scottish industry”, with its models of “local ownership, with the business in the hands of skippers, families or relatively small consortia”. As the SFF highlighted “this structure confers a number of benefits, including strong local territorial connections, an extra determination to survive challenges and a very personal requirement to succeed”.
We will be writing to individual fishermen and the fishing industry representatives to ask for views about how the current system can be improved to better support active fishermen and fishing communities.
We will then publish a consultation paper, taking these views into account, which will include proposals for change.