19 June 2015
The Chairman’s Report is intended to provide an overview of the Federation’s activities over the previous 12 months.
Introduction
The Chairman’s Report is intended to provide an overview of the Federation’s activities over the previous 12 months. In truth, such is the scope and range of the Federation’s work that it can only hope to provide a flavour of the range of issues on which the Federation, its officers and members have worked. Nevertheless, it is important to record, even if it is incomplete, what we have done, both as a source of satisfaction and as a spur to further action over the coming 12 months.
Discard Ban/Regionalisation
Without doubt, the EU landings obligation (discard ban) represents the biggest challenge facing our industry for the foreseeable future and it is natural that the Federation has been at the forefront in shaping the new regime into something that our industry can live with.
A lot of effort has gone into securing a phased approach that is not completely disruptive in the first year of the new regime; but there remain serious challenges ahead, not least the potential for the landings obligation to choke fisheries, i.e. to prevent vessels from taking up, in full, all of their fishing opportunities. Such is the magnitude of the change involved in implementing the landings obligation that this single issue will remain at the top of our priorities for many years ahead. In the CFP reform of 2013, 20 years of progress in reducing discards was swept aside by a toxic tsunami of ignorance and cynical opportunism.
As an example, the graph above, based on ICES advice, illustrates that the absolute level of discards in the North Sea round-fish fishery had been reduced by 90% over the previous 20 years. Other fisheries show a similar pattern. Large scale discarding had been a major problem but it was not a problem that was being ignored. It certainly did not merit the blunt, heavy handed, poorly drafted legislation that we now have to deal with. As the CFP reform wave receded, it has left in its wake an over-prescriptive EU Regulation that has seriously impeded the other strand within the reform: regionalisation. Member states, cooperating at regional seas level, have struggled to produce discard plans that both make sense and comply with the legislative requirements. The NFFO working in the North Sea and North Western Waters advisory councils as well as directly with DEFRA, has been centrally involved in shaping the resulting discard plans into something workable at vessel level. This work will continue.
Drift Net Ban
Another sure sign that we have not yet escaped from the era of blunt, centralised, top-down and highly inappropriate EU measures, was seen in the Commission’s unbelievably stupid decision to propose a blanket ban on small-scale drift nets. The NFFO subsequently led a delegation to Brussels to explain, in words of one syllable, why such a blanket ban would at a stroke destroy a number of important, sustainable, small-scale fisheries, some of which held Marine Stewardship Accreditation. Since then, the Federation has worked with DEFRA officials and Europêche to get the proposal dropped completely by the European Parliament and Council of Ministers. We are not quite there yet but such is the weight of logic, evidence and fairness that we are reasonably optimistic that sense will prevail and these small but important local fisheries will be able to continue.
Bass
Many of the 800 vessels that catch bass either as a target species or as a bycatch are members of the NFFO. Poor recruitment and relatively high fishing pressure have led to a poor scientific prognosis and consequently to initial EU measures. Further proposals are in the pipeline. The Federation has taken the lead in arguing against poorly designed panic measures and for a rational, step-wise approach applying effective remedial measures that shares the burden of reducing fishing pressures to safer levels. It is in no one’s interest to see a collapse of the bass stocks but neither is it sensible to overreact or be led astray by the recreational anglers’ separate and one-sided agendas.
Industry Reputation
Frustration over the widening gulf between the media’s portrayal of fish stock trends and the reality of a dramatically improving situation, led the Federation to invest in the services of communications specialists Acceleris. The results over the last two years have been impressive. As well as instantly rebutting inaccurate stories as soon they appear, our campaigns on sustainability, fleet diversity and fisheries science partnerships have led to a shift towards a fairer and more accurate representation of our industry.
Of course, misinformed or unfair stories on fishing still appear in the press but we have succeeded in building up an alternative, positive narrative, more closely aligned with the facts. Our campaign on hake involving a celebrity chef and intertwining a good news story on the stock with a celebration of hake dishes generated more than 100 articles, big and small in the media, including a spread in a major Sunday supplement. We intend to broaden this successful approach into other species and fisheries later in the year as part of our ongoing campaign.
Fleet Diversity
Perhaps the most salient observable fact about the NFFO’s membership is its diversity. We fish in all of the inshore and offshore areas around the UK as well as in distant waters such as North Norway and Greenland. Our members fish inshore from under-10metre punts and cobles for crab, lobster and salmon, but also offshore in large purpose-built vessels pursuing the large shoaling stocks of mackerel and blue whiting or cod. Almost every conceivable fishing method is represented from midwater trawling, to demersal and prawn trawls, to potting; fly-shooting to beaming; gill nets, trammel nets and drift nets; long lines, rod and lines.
We have calculated that this diverse and varied fleet has produced the basis for 200 trillion meals since the end of the Second World War. That is a huge contribution to the food security of the nation and to the balance of trade with other countries.
Under-10m Fleet
In response to DEFRA’s consultation on how to deal with latent capacity in the under-10 metre fleet, the Federation, after extensive internal deliberations, rejected the proposal to apply a further capping exercise to under-10s. The proposal had not been well thought through, especially in relation to the impending implementation of the landings obligation.
We do accept, however, that there is a significant level of latent capacity on this part of the fleet and that this has the potential to undermine any future management measures. Maintaining the flexibility to alter target species, which is essential for the inshore fleet, whilst dealing with a fleet overcapacity is not an easy task and our conclusion was that the only way to break out of this straitjacket is through removal of capacity via a decommissioning scheme. In these financially straitened times public money is not easy to source but at some stage investment in the future will become a priority. Bringing the benefits of effective quota management to the under-10 fleet and dealing with latent capacity remain the two parallel strands within the Federation’s policy on under-10s.
Fisheries Science Partnerships
The Federation remains a strong champion of strengthened communications between fishermen and fisheries scientists at all levels. Better data, stronger assessment models and techniques as well as increased use of the type of knowledge held by working fishermen, all contribute to better fisheries management. The Federation, along with CEFAS and DEFRA were pioneers in the adoption of fisheries science partnerships and we strongly believe that this kind of collaborative approach still has much to offer and should be nurtured.
Marine Protected Areas
Against the background of an ill-conceived campaign to rush into place a large number of European and domestic closed areas, the Federation has campaigned successfully, mainly through the MPA Fishing Coalition, for a balanced and evidence-based process for designation marine conservation zones. The Government has, in line with our interventions, progressed with the important task of protecting sensitive habitats and vulnerable species through a process of evidence gathering and analysis. The alternative is to respond to a moral panic generated by people who should know better and end with nothing more than a tick-box exercise. As the focus now shifts from site designation to management measures within those sites, there is much further detailed work for the Federation to do; but all this is a far cry from the early days in the wake of the Marine and Coastal Access Act, when MPAs were being oversold as a panacea and the solution to every problem in fisheries.
Safety and Training
The Federation plays an active role in promoting a safety culture within the fishing industry and is a core member of the Fishing Industry Safety Group. Our Safety and Training Officer is equally active in ensuring that all new legislation makes sense at vessel level, and providing advice and encouragement in completing the all-important risk assessment folders. This work is paying off and the casualty rate has fallen significantly. There is however, no room for complacency and the Federation was pleased that its initiative to provide low cost personal flotation devices to its members was emulated by other organisations in the UK. We are doing a similar exercise this year with the purchase of low cost life rafts and VMS.
Referenda
The turbulence surrounding the Scottish independence referendum and specifically the call for the UK industry to be represented by the Scottish fisheries minister brought forth a decisive response from the NFFO that such a move would be unconstitutional and unacceptable to fishermen outside Scotland who would be in effect disenfranchised.
The forthcoming negotiations and referendum on UK membership of the EU is likely to bring a particular focus on fishing, as one of the least successful policies within the Union. The Federation will deal with this as it deals with all issues, calmly, rationally and democratically, weighing and discussing the risks and advantages of the various options.
Marine Management Organisation
It is no secret that the MMO, since its establishment, has faced serious difficulties, including an embarrassing turnover of senior officers. With no imminent sign that the organisation is capable of solving its own problems, the Federation supported calls for an independent review. At some point endless assurances have to be translated into action and we will be repeating our request to the new Government. Implementation of electronic logbooks, Vessel Monitoring Systems, and the administration of European grants, are amongst the areas in which the organisations shortcomings are most acutely felt amongst fishermen.
NFFO Training Trust
Thanks to the generosity of NFFO Services Limited, the NFFO Training Trust, a charity run by the NFFO, has this year been able to put a further £50,000 in the hands of fishermen for training and education purposes and the purchase of safety equipment.
Since the Trust was launched, £860,000 has been made available by the NFFO to the industry for training, education and safety equipment.
NFFO Services Limited
The work of our commercial division, NFFO Services Limited, continues to play a central role in mediating the relationship between offshore developers and fishermen. At its best, good communications and early dialogue can lay the foundations for a harmonious co-existence in an increasingly crowded marine environment. The company also plays an important role in keeping our subscription rate low and contributing to the welfare of the fishing industry through its donations to the NFFO Training Trust.
Shellfish Policy
Despite its huge economic contribution, shellfish, in policy terms, remains the Cinderella of the fishing industry. The Federation addressed this state of affairs through a Shellfish Policy Summit, held in the impressive surroundings of the old naval college at Greenwich.
In some respects, the crab and lobster fisheries have been fortunate in avoiding the fate of the whitefish industry under the CFP. It is clear however that the Marine Strategy Framework Directive will, in the near future, impact also on shellfish management, including a requirement for crab and lobster to be fished below MSY as the UK is
committed to achieve MSY for all commercial stocks by 2012 – including
shellfish. . The Shellfish Summit highlighted the need to cap the capacity of the high volume end of the fleet and subsequent representations have been made, so far without success. Dealing with all these issues will require a highly active response and the Federation’s Shellfish Committee’s detailed attention.
Management Plans
It seems inevitable that management plans of one sort or another will feature as a central feature of our fisheries management system in the future. TACs for the major stocks share with Norway are already under long term management plans and it is generally acknowledged that these have provided the basis for sustainable and relatively stable stocks. The Commission intends to develop proposals for mixed fishery plans for the North Sea and Western Waters demersal fisheries. It is therefore vital that the Federation is right at the heart of the debate about their content.
Conclusions: Oncoming Pressures
The landings obligation is the most prominent of the challenges facing our industry over the next few years. The basics are in place – fishing mortality has been dramatically reduced since the turn of the century and exploitation patterns are being improved daily. The trends are moving in the right direction. Nevertheless, volatile domestic and European politics, pressures from other sea-bed users, and an incomplete shift away from centralised micro-management, all underline the importance for our industry to have at its disposal a strong and coherent voice.
The NFFO provides that voice for fishermen in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is my belief and conviction that the Federation’s work, in supremely difficult circumstances, has shaped the world in which our vessels operate for the better. It is our joint responsibility to ensure that this work continues.
Finally, our Federation could not function without the active support of its members. In any given issue our officers are supported, voluntarily, by many fishermen and vessel operators who harbour a great store of knowledge and experience on which we can draw. I would like to record my deep thanks and gratitude to them.