North Sea Cod - Disappointment
Disappointment is almost inadequate as a term to describe the news that once again the iconic…
All news
Brussels Takes Stock of Landing Obligation
A seminar in Brussels, organised recently by the European Commission, was held to take stock of…
Landing Obligation Forum
A series of meetings between regulators and the fishing industry, to discuss the…
The Future of Inshore Fishing
The political profile of the fishing industry stands at its highest point since the Cod Wars in…
Fixed Quota Allocations and Sustainable Fishing
The NFFO’s members span all sizes of vessel and so must be scrupulously fair when it comes…
Third Tranche of Marine Conservation Zones
An evidence-based approach and good location choice continues to be critical to the success of…
Landing Obligation: Six Months in
It’s early days for the landing obligation, given the magnitude of the changes…
Wilful Ignorance
We liked this antidote by Sustainable Fisheries UB to George Monbiot’s “wilful…
NFFO AGM
Fisheries Minister, Robert Goodwill, will address the industry at the NFFO’s annual…
NFFO Calls for a Rethink on Catch Reporting for under-10 metre vessels
The NFFO backs the need for improved catch reporting but says the Government’s proposed…
Parliamentary Support for the Fishing Industry
At a critical juncture in the Brexit process, around 70 parliamentarians gathered yesterday…
NFFO Elects Next Chairman
The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations has elected its next Chairman.
Electronic Monitoring: Aiding a Culture of Cooperation or Surveillance?
As the Government is poised to extend the use of vessel monitoring systems (VMS) across the…
Fishermen urged to be Brexit ready by registering with the IMO
Advice on preparing for the introduction of International Maritime Organisation (IMO)…
Pulse Voluntary Closed Areas Extended for Another Year
The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations and Dutch fishing associations…
Battle over Maximum Sustainable Yield
The dangers of one-dimensional fisheries management.
Fisheries Bill
Both sides of the Christmas break have seen intense activity at Westminster as the Fisheries…
Fisheries Council December 2018
The last Fisheries Council in which the UK will participate as an EU member state concluded in…
The EU Landing Obligation: Contingency Planning for Chokes Must Begin Now
December Council. Despite a four-year phase-in, it seems highly unlikely that the…
Fisheries Council
The December Council of Ministers will not only be the last in which the UK participates but one…
Landings Obligation: Statement of Intent
The EU landings obligation comes fully into force on 1st January 2019 and will then apply to all…
Government Bolsters Position on Fishing ahead of Tuesday’s Vote
The Government is pulling out all the stops on fishing ahead of Tuesday’s critical vote…
Fishing Centre Stage
The Withdrawal Agreement and Political Statement on the UK’s future relationship with…
Withdrawal Agreement
Like many others, we are studying the text of the draft EU/UK withdrawal agreement to…
Inshore VMS: Consultation Response by the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations
Defra is consulting on a proposal to require all vessels below 12 metres in length to fit and…
European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF)
Risk & Policy Analysts (RPA) Ltd have been commissioned by Defra to carry out work on the…
The fish markets in Newlyn, Peterhead and Kilkeel,
and a discussion of fishing post-Brexit, featured heavily on BBC Farming Today recently.
Publication of the UK Fisheries Bill
As the UK leaves the EU and therefore the Common Fisheries Policy, this Bill is an important…
Major Lobby Day Ahead of Key Decisions
The NFFO and the Scottish Fishermen’s Federations, recently joined forces for a lobby…
Bass may escape the landing obligation
A consensus seems to be emerging that bass could be excluded from the landings obligation when…
Scallop Wars
The recent clashes in the Channel between UK and French fishing vessels over scallop grounds…
Flags Deliver the Message
Thousands of flags and wheelhouse stickers in fishing ports across the country are delivering…
Netting fishermen’s knowledge on seals
A new project is underway to help improve advice on ways to prevent seals from taking fish…
White Paper
The Government has published its long-awaited White Paper on Fisheries. Sustainable…
Industry Unites to Fight for its Future
The NFFO’s new Chairman, Cornish fisherman, Andrew Pascoe, has said that he is…
UK to be Ejected from Advisory Councils during Transition Period
At a recent meeting of the North Sea Advisory Council, the European Commission made the…
NFFO Lobby Day in Parliament
The Federation recently held a lobby day in Parliament to ensure that fishing remains a…
New Man at the Helm
The appointment of Andrew Pascoe, as the new Chairman of the NFFO, was confirmed at a meeting of…
Mike Cohen – NFFO Chairman - Personal remarks to the NFFO AGM, held this year in London in Fishmongers Hall
In just a few minutes I cease not only to be the Chairman of the NFFO, but also - for the time being,…
Chairman’s Report 2018
The NFFO’s AGM was this year held in Fishmongers Hall and was attended by UK Fisheries…
Running out of Options
The NFFO’s East Anglian Committee has highlighted the need for a concerted effort to…
NFFO/SFF Joint Statement
In a joint statement, Bertie Armstrong of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF)…
Fishing Industry Organisations across the UK Unite
“We intend to Hold Government to Account on Brexit Commitments” A broad…
Industry Should Not Under-estimate new MPA Threat: NFFO
The fishing industry should not underestimate the threat from a new celebrity-led threat to…
Developing a participatory approach to the management of fishing activity in UK offshore Marine Protected Areas
JNCC and partners the Marine Management Organisation, Natural England, the National…
NFFO Elects New Chairman
At its most recent meeting, the NFFO Executive Committee unanimously elected Newlyn…
UK Fishing in the Transition Period
The NFFO comments on where we are after the EU and UK have agreed arrangements for the 21 month…
EU Transition: Tactical Concession or Capitulation?
The NFFO assesses the recent developments in Brussels
Landing Obligation: No Solution So Far to Choke Problem
The full implementation of the landing obligation – the requirement to land all quota…
Meeting with Michael Gove
An NFFO delegation met recently with Secretary of State, Michael Gove, as the UK and the EU move…
Take the Politics Out of Fishing
Against the background of high level discussions on where fisheries powers should be located…
The Prime Minister Spells It Out
On the cusp of the next and crucial round of negotiations on the UK’s departure from the…
Ten Reasons Why Fishing should not be part of a Transitional Deal with the EU
As the cabinet debates the UK’s detailed positions on Brexit, the NFFO spells out why…
Commission Publishes its Negotiation Positions on Fisheries: NFFO Executive Reaffirms its Brexit Positions
The European Commission has recently presented its positions on fisheries to the EU 27 member…
Pulse Fishing Agreement to Protect Sensitive Areas on the East Coast
Following a meeting between Dutch pulse fishermen and English inshore fishermen, just before…
David Scott
We are very sad to hear the news that former NFFO Chairman and President, David Scott, has died.
Tony Delahunty OBE
NFFO President, Tony Delahunty, has been honoured in the Queen’s New Year List for his…
UK Fisheries: the Year Ahead
Over the next ten months, the shape of the UK’s future outside the EU should become…
2017 Council Overview
This was a different kind of December Council in a number of important ways. Many delegations…
December Council. Back off on Bass!
A strong NFFO team is present in Brussels for the December Council, which begins today in…
Norway outlines its Post-Brexit Vision for the North Sea: Sustainability requires cooperation
During the annual EU/Norway negotiations, this year in Bergen, the Norwegian delegation gave…
EU/Norway Negotiations
The EU and Norway delegations paused in their negotiations in Bergen for an annual reciprocal…
European Impasse Generates Technical Conservation Fears
There are deep concerns within the fishing industry that an impasse between the European…
Brexit Work
Whilst the Exit talks in Brussels judder forward, on both sides there is a great deal of activity…
EMFF Roadshows
The MMO has initiated a series of roadshows to increase the industry’s awareness of the…
Salmon – Over Precautionary Approach
Salmon fishermen on the Northumberland, Durham and Yorkshire coast again face a period of…
Irish Sea Fisheries Funding
The NFFO has welcomed new funding for projects to support Irish Sea fishing communities. The…
Fisheries Management Safety Implications - Robert Greenwood, NFFO Safety and Training Officer
It is fair to say that impact on safety of fishing vessels at sea has not generally been to the…
Serious Risk of Under-fishing
A group of international scientists is currently looking into whether the fisheries in our…
Brexit and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority
Intense behind-the-scenes work is continuing both in preparation for the exit negotiations…
Norway Study Trip
An NFFO delegation of 11 has recently returned from a study tour to Oslo and Bergen to learn in…
Work Under Way on December Council Priorities
Sleeves were rolled up in London recently, as large teams from NFFO and DEFRA/Cefas got to grips…
Cornish AGM: Brexit Focus
Fisheries Minister, George Eustice, and a team of senior DEFRA officials used the Cornish…
Changes Ahead to Safety in Fishing
As part of the preparation for the implementation of ILO C188, the first meeting of a special…
Bolder Management of Spurdog Recovery Vital
The latest scientific advice on spurdog points to the reintroduction of a bycatch allowance as…
Irish Sea Turnaround
“I told you so” is rarely an attractive phrase. But it is difficult to avoid a…
Labour and Fishing
The Labour Party intends to engage much more closely with the fishing industry than it has done…
Round table with Secretary of State
The top DEFRA ministerial team, led by Secretary of State, Michael Gove, met recently with key…
Withdrawal of the UK from the London Convention Confirmed
The Federation has today received the following letter from the Secretary of State, Michael…
Fishing and Brexit
Fishing will be a sort of litmus test for Brexit. As the UK begins the process of leaving the EU, we…
Laying the Foundations
The Fisheries Bill contained in the Queen’s speech, along with the Government’s…
National survey to give a voice to UK fishing communities
Over the summer maritime charities Seafarers UK and Cornwall Rural Community Charity (CRCC)…
From Turmoil – Strength
The bewildering change of political fortunes over the last few weeks prompts the fair…
Weekly commentary: The NFFO Sketches a post-Brexit future
The Management of Fisheries within the UK Zone Post-Brexit
Minister Provides Brexit Assurances
In a letter received before the announcement of the General Election, Fisheries Minister,…
Landmark Meeting on Skates and Ray
A meeting of stakeholders, scientists and policy officials organised by the Commission to…
Weekly Brexit Update: National Quota Shares
Relative Stability is the name given to the quota allocation keys adopted as part of the CFP in…
General Election: Party Manifesto Commitments
The Prime Minister’s announcement of a General Election on the 8th June may have caught…
NFFO AGM Postponed until after the General Election
The NFFO AGM was due to be held in Fishmongers Hall in London on 9th May, with Fisheries Minister…
Are Days the Answer?
The NFFO looks at claims that, post-Brexit, we could ditch quotas.
Exclusive 12 mile Zone
Each week, the NFFO shines a spotlight on a different aspect of its policy towards the…
European Fishing Groups combine to Fight Brexit
The Financial Times has reported on manoeuvrings by European fishing groups in France,…
NFFO Weekly Brexit Update
Each week, the NFFO shines a spotlight on a different aspect of its policy towards the…
Path clear to remove quotas for Dab and Flounder: Only a first step says the NFFO
ICES has replied to a special request from the European Commission asking its opinion on…
NFFO urges Government rethink attack on Self-Employed Share Fishermen
The Federation has written to Chancellor Philip Hammond, urging a rethink on his proposal,…
Risks for us as Scotland Heads for the Door
Notwithstanding the referendum result in 2014, in which the Scottish electorate rejected…
Bass Appeals Process
Following the NFFO’s meeting with Fisheries Minister, George Eustice, when the…
The European Parliament and the Future of Fisheries
The UK media reported this week on a leaked document from the EU Parliament, explaining why…
NFFO encourages vessel owners to make the most of EMFF
The NFFO is encouraging fishing vessel owners to make use of the EMFF funds not only to gain early…
Meeting with Minister
An NFFO delegation met with Fisheries Minister George Eustice, on Thursday 9th February to…
Urgent Bass Talks
The NFFO has raised the issue of bass with Fisheries Minister George Eustice. At a meeting…
NFFO Calls for Bass Appeals Process
The Federation has written urgently to Fisheries Minister George Eustice calling for an…
NFFO Concordat Response
We have been deeply troubled about the way that the fisheries concordat between the four…
Tony Delahunty appointed to MMO Board
The NFFO’s President, Tony Delahunty, has been appointed to sit on the Board of the…
NFFO Takes Position on North Sea Plan
Through its work with the North Sea Advisory Council, the NFFO has been centrally involved in…
EU Landings Obligation
The beginning of 2017 and the second year of the progressive implementation of the EU landings…
NFFO Fights Back against Appeasement
The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations, which represents fishermen in…
December Council outcomes
The December Council, as usual, generated a mixed bag of winners and losers. The underlying…
Tranche 3 MCZs Must Avoid “Gold Plating” at the Expense of Livelihoods
The NFFO is warning that the completion of the Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) network in…
December Council
The December Council remains (for the time being) an important date in the fishing calendar.
Bass: Ban on Gill Net Fisheries “Misguided and Harmful”
The NFFO has made it clear to Fisheries Minister, George Eustice, that the Commission’s…
Brexit Talks with Norwegian Fishing Sector
The NFFO met recently with a large delegation from the Norwegian Seafood Alliance, which is…
UK fishermen’s federations adopt united stance on Brexit
The UK’s two main representative organisations for commercial fishermen – the…
Brexit: Resetting the Fisheries Deal
The Common Fisheries Policy has been one of the least successful European policies. At its…
TV Fisherman Takes Twitter Helm
Star of Trawlermen Tales to answer questions about life on the waves during National Seafood…
Chairman’s Report 2016
The referendum on 23rd June, which decided that UK should leave the EU, represents a seismic…
Brexit offers ‘opportunity for radical change’ says UK fisheries minister
Brexit Takes Centre Stage at Fishing Industry Debate
Annual General Meeting of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations 8th September 2016
Royal Overseas League, 3 Park Place, St James, London, SW1A 1LR
In the meantime ……
Brexit will dominate the NFFO’s work this summer and for the foreseeable future. But…
NFFO Working on Brexit Detail
Since the referendum on leaving the EU took place on 23rd June, the Federation has been actively…
Policy on Brexit
The NFFO Executive Committee met on 12th July 2016 to discuss the implications of Brexit.
Brexit
From any perspective, it is clear that the outcome of the EU referendum marks a seismic change…
North Sea Discard Plan for 2017
North Sea Member States have now submitted their Joint Recommendation for the Discard Plan for…
North Western Waters Discard Plan for 2017
The North West Waters member states have now submitted their Joint Recommendations to the…
Fishing Industry Access to IFCAs Called into Question
IFCAs, the bodies responsible for managing inshore fisheries in England, are at risk of…
Tackling the Threat Posed by Unlicensed Fishing
Responding to grassroots concerns from the quayside, the NFFO has joined forces with the MMO,…
Mid-Channel Conference Communique on Skates and Rays
For 37 years the Mid-Channel Conference has provided an international forum for Channel…
Multi-annual Management Plan Logjam freed
The log-jam caused by the long running, bad-tempered, jurisdictional dispute between the…
New EU Technical Conservation Regime
The Commission has recently adopted its long-awaited proposal for a new Technical…
NFFO will provide Referendum Platform
The NFFO will not take a formal position on the forthcoming referendum on membership of the EU.…
Advisory Councils Publish Advice on the Landing Obligation Both warn about chokes ahead
The North Sea and North West Waters advisory councils have both published their advice on the…
Under-10 Capping Appeals
The NFFO has offered to help those fisherman who have they been told that their licences will be…
Economics and Fishing Policy
The Common Fisheries Policy has to date been driven almost exclusively by conservation…
The Science of Sustainability
Scientists are doing a fantastic job in rubbishing the damaging exaggerations, distortions…
Multi-annual Management Plans in the Common Fisheries Policy
A briefing note for Co-legislators
New research to aid sustainable fisheries management in Marine Protected Areas
Scientists now have a better understanding of the level of fishing activity that can be carried…
An Evidence based Approach Continues to be Critical to “Designating Marine Protected Areas for the Right Reasons”
The NFFO has welcomed Defra’s continued measured approach to the designation of new…
NFFO President Slams Ray Decision
In a letter to UK fisheries Minister George Eustice, NFFO President Paul Trebilcock, has…
A Debt of Gratitude
The MPA Coalition which was formed to protect fishermen’s livelihoods to during the…
Demersal Landings Obligation applies from 1st January
The EU landings obligation will come into force on 1st January 2016.
December Council Details
We are now in receipt of the definitive TAC and quota changes agreed at the December…
December Council Outcomes
The Council of European fisheries ministers which decided the quota levels for 2016 was held in…
December Council
An NFFO team has arrived in Brussels for the Fisheries Council on 14th /15th December, where…
European Parliament Derails the North Sea Discard Plan
Many have predicted that the EU landings obligation - because of the top-down way it has been…
Bass: Repeating the mistakes of the past
Everyone makes mistakes. A measure of intelligence is how quickly we learn from those…
Who’s to Blame for Landing the Blame?
In an open letter to the New Economics Foundation, the NFFO has challenged its misguided…
Fisheries Debate: NFFO Briefing Note
In advance of the annual round of quota negotiations, the National Federation of…
The Emerging Technical Conservation Regime
The main EU instrument governing the rules on technical conservation is a regulation dating…
The Realities of Bass Conservation
Peter Caunter operates an under-10m vessel, netting off the south east coast. In this short…
Bass Unity
The Commission’s proposal on bass – effectively a moratorium on catches –…
Bass Requires Action not Overreaction
The Federation writes to the Minister on the need for a proportionate response to bass…
Pew response fails to address EU fishing sector concerns over misleading information
It is disappointing that your response fails to address the issues that we have raised. We drew…
Death Throes of the Drift Net Ban
A rather bureaucratic exchange of letters between Commissioner Vella and the Chairman of the…
NFFO East Anglia Committee Elects Chairman
The recently formed NFFO East Anglia Committee elected Steve Wightman, Lowestoft…
EU fishing sector sends open letter to Pew on damage of misleading information
In March of this year Pew Charitable Trusts published a report Turning the Tide: Ending…
Scientific advice and ministers’ responsibility to manage fisheries
Jockeying for position in the run up to decisions on quotas for 2016 has already begun. The…
NFFO Elects New Chairman
The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations has elected the leader of an east…
Improving the evidence for fisheries management decisions in Marine Protected Areas
The National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations (NFFO) has contracted leading marine…
From Deck To Dinner! Gregg Wallace Fronts Campaign To Champion Home Caught Sustainable Fish
Following the release of new scientific research that shows the stocks of many commercial fish…
Guernsey
There is no sign that Guernsey authorities are minded to accept that they have a responsibility…
“Watershed Meeting” with the MMO
An NFFO team met recently with the Chief Executive of the Marine Management Organisation to…
Wide Ranging Discussions with UK Fisheries Minister
Fisheries Minister, George Eustice, met recently in London with the NFFO’s Executive…
Fishermen's 'sacrifice' to thank for fish stock recovery
European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Praises Fishermen’s Role in…
New Helm for NFFO South West Committee
Brixham fisherman, Steve Parker, has been elected as the Chairman of the NFFO’s South…
Enforcement of the Landings Obligation
The NFFO recently participated in a major seminar in Roskilde, Denmark, organised by the…
Non-native crabs and lobsters found off the Sussex coast
The MMO has reported that a small number of fishermen on the Sussex coast are reporting catches…
Bass conservation measures NFFO Position Paper June 2015
The NFFO has prepared the following position paper on a sea bass conservation strategy. A…
Revised AGM Arrangements
We have been advised by the Minister's private office that DEFRA Oral questions have been set…
NFFO Response: Defra Consultation on the Implementation of the EU landings Obligation
The EU landings obligation, enshrined in the CFP reform of June 2013, was the result of a toxic…
NFFO Offers Fishermen EU Funding to Improve Vessel Safety
The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) is offering fishermen…
Drift Net Ban hanging on by its fingernails
The ill-conceived European Commission proposal for a ban on small-scale drift nets is badly…
NFFO AGM: Focal Point for Industry Concerns
The NFFO’s annual general meeting will be held this year in York on Thursday 18th June.…
Community Quota: A Workable Solution for the West Coast?
NFFO West Coast Committee Chairman, Ron Graham, has reaffirmed that what is needed for under 10…
Guernsey Fiasco Requires Tough Line
The continuing fiasco through which vessels registered in Guernsey, with the collusion of the…
Post-Election Horse Trading Concerns voiced by NFFO
The SNP has made no secret of its ambition to take the lead in representing the UK in the Council of…
Multi-annual Plan for the Baltic
Normally the NFFO would not be overly concerned with management measures for the Baltic. Our…
New NFFO Committee for East Anglia: Out of the Blocks Running
A new regional committee, established to reflect the views of fishermen in East Anglia, came…
Bass Measures
Earlier this year, the Commission introduced emergency measures for the bass fishery…
Reducing Fishing Footprints through Gear Modification
A workshop on efforts to reduce the seabed contact from trawl gears demonstrates the huge…
What will the landings obligation mean for me? Will there be time to adapt?
Two perfectly reasonable questions are being asked across the industry, as the deadline for…
Regionalisation of the CFP Taking stock
It is almost two years since it was decided to introduce a degree of regionalisation into…
Austin Mitchell: 38 Years of Support for the Fishing Industry
The NFFO recently held a dinner in a London fish restaurant to honour Austin Mitchell MP in…
Fishing Industry Urges Twitter To ‘Get On Board’ With #CatchofTheDay
Members of the UK fishing industry are being encouraged to get on board with a forthcoming…
GBBO Winner And TV Chef Urges UK Consumers To Try More Fish
Fishing Industry Takes To Twitter To Celebrate The Diversity and Sustainability Of The UK…
European Fisherman and WFO Pledge to Eliminate Marine Litter
Europêche, the body representing 80,000 European fishermen, has teamed up with…
'Joint Working Is The Key To Wind Farm Development' Say Fishermen
Industry calls for collaboration to protect valuable industry and livelihoods as new wind…
Seafood and the UK Fishing Industry
“The UK public are being misinformed - by certain core national media organisations,…
NFFO Welcomes Defra’s “Measured Approach to Designating Marine Conservation Zones”
Defra has launched its second tranche consultation on 23 Marine Conservation Zones which is…
Fishing Body Rejects Basis for Greenpeace's Divisive Court Action
The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) has warned of…
NFFO Exec expresses frustration at Government “Inertia”
The Executive Committee of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations…
Mervyn Mountjoy
We are sad to convey the news that Mervyn Mountjoy, who played a very significant role in…
Discards will Dominate Industry in 2015, says NFFO
With just 12 months to go before the introduction of a landing obligation, which will be the most…
Crystal Ball
The Federation looks forward to its work programme for 2015.
December Council 2014
The 2015 deadline for quotas to be set in relation to maximum sustainable yield, where…
Cod Recovery Rules for 2015
The MMO has published the rules for vessels operating in the cod recovery zone in 2015
'Ministers strike a balance to protect livelihoods' - December Council outcomes
Quota allocations for 2015 reflect stock recovery and acknowledge importance of local…
BBC Today Programme: Ministers must put fishing businesses and livelihoods ahead of MSY dogma: NFFO
Ahead of the December Council of Fisheries Ministers, which begins today in Brussels, the NFFO…
Commissioner Vella and the Fishing Sector
The NFFO was recently part of a Europeche/EAPO delegation which met with the new…
“Minister should rethink decision on an Independent Review of the MMO”
The NFFO releases a statement saying an 'ad hoc' approach to a review is no longer satisfactory.
NFFO launches 'Fishing Matters' blog
Ex-England Rugby star and TV personality, Matt Dawson, kick-starts the blog with his entry, in…
Call to resurrect Marine Conservation Zones is a 'Mishmash of Misinformation and ignorance'
The NFFO has responded to a call to re-launch a government campaign to designate 127 marine…
MSY Threat to Small-Scale Fisheries
The drive to reach maximum sustainable yield by 2015, the centrepiece of the new CFP, poses a…
Quotas for 2015
The publication of the Commission’s proposals for TACs and quotas in 2015 opens a period…
Spurdog By-catch Initiative
Spurdog presents a particular challenge to fishermen, fisheries managers, scientists and…
NFFO Expresses Alarm at Scottish Concessions
Fishermen in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have expressed their mounting alarm that…
The Collapse of The Bristol Channel Fisheries: An Early Victim of the Rush to MSY
The commercial fisheries in the Bristol face imminent closure. This is not because of any…
Safety Digests Are Lifesavers
NFFO Supports Marine Accident Investigation Branch’s Latest Safety Digest
NFFO Summit: The Future of Shellfish Policy
A summit of fishermen, regulators, scientists and other stakeholders was held recently in the…
Choke Fears on Skates and Rays
The early exhaustion of the skates and rays quota for the eastern channel (VIId) has raised the…
Drift Net Ban: NFFO Directs Withering Fire on “Irrelevant Brussels Committee”
The NFFO has said that an obscure Brussels Committee which has expressed support for a blanket…
NFFO Chairman, Tony Delahunty discusses the future of quota management in the under-10m Pool
The NFFO has already expressed, as part of its response to a recent Defra consultation, its…
Bass Management
An important workshop was held recently in Dublin to make progress on the design and…
Static Gears: A Risk to MPAs?
There is growing concern among the inshore fishing sector that some of the English IFCAs are…
Drift Net Ban pushed onto back burner
An NFFO delegation took part in a recent meeting in Brussels, between European Commission…
NFFO Summit to Direct Future Shellfish Policy
The NFFO is to hold a major summit focused on the future direction of shellfish policy. The…
NFFO to sponsor Skipper Expo Int. Bournemouth 2014
The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) is to sponsor Skipper…
The Damanaki Legacy: The Mask Slips
As she approaches the end of her period of tenure as Fisheries Commissioner, Maria Damanaki is…
NFFO in Norfolk
The NFFO has members right around the Norfolk coast with the biggest concentrations in Cromer,…
Court Injunction
The National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations has expressed regret that offshore…
ACRUNET 6th Partner Meeting in Lisbon
A very successful meeting of the ACRUNET (Atlantic Crab Resource Users Network) was held at the…
Drift Net Report
One of the many mysterious aspects of the Commission’s proposal for blanket ban on drift…
Maintaining the Diversity of our Fleets is the best Guarantee of a Resilient UK Fleet and Sustainable Fisheries for the Future - NFFO
NFFO Response to Greenpeace/NUTFA Report "Championing coastal waters".
No More Dog’s Breakfast? A Bonfire of Technical Conservation Rules?
There are many reasons to be concerned about the way that the EU landings obligation is…
NFFO Warns of One-Dimensional Approach to Quotas
The President and Chairman of the NFFO have written a joint letter to Fisheries Minister George…
A Busy Couple of Weeks
The last couple of weeks have been busy but not untypical for the NFFO.
West Coast Committee to Look at Options for Community Quota
The NFFO's West Coast Committee agreed at its meeting in Barrow on the 4th July to explore the…
Fishing Body Urges Vessels To Fit Carbon Monoxide Detector
The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations Strongly Supports Measures to…
The Dying Days of Effort Control
Effort control (days at sea restrictions) as part of the EU Cod Management Plan, was dealt a…
NFFO Exec Meets to Decide Policy
The Executive Committee of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations met…
Why the NFFO will Fight Tooth and Claw to Block the Drift Net Ban Prospects are Looking Better
The reasons why the NFFO will use everything at its disposal to resist the blanket ban on drift…
UK Takes Stance Against Blanket Drift Net Ban
The UK has made clear that it will throw its weight behind opposition to the proposed EU ban on…
Celtic Sea Mixed Fisheries: Cutting Edge Work on Management Plan
A meeting in Dublin recently attended by the NFFO saw progress on a project at the cutting edge of…
Peter Caunter , Skipper/owner of the under-10metre netter MFV Yvonne Anne, writes about the impact that the total ban on EU drift nets would have on
Reference points: Dover (Kent) to Yarmouth ( Suffolk) For hundreds of years traditional…
Over-turning the EU Drift Nets Ban could be a long haul
The Commission’s hard-nosed response to concerns, expressed by the NFFO and others,…
Prominent Fisheries Scientist, Martin Pastoors, expresses his views on the EU Discard Ban
The main challenge that I see at the moment is to keep the fishing industry onboard when the…
Fisheries Implications of “Defining Moment in the History of the EU”
As the European institutions struggle to absorb the implications of last week’s…
Sunday Times Condemns Drift Net Ban
Cut this crazy EU dragnet or our herring fishermen are lost
Drift Net Blanket Ban: “Crazy, Misguided and Possibly Malicious”
Coalition of fishermen, scientists and conservationists preparing to resist Commission…
New Captain takes the helm at NFFO
National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations Announces New Chairman
Founder of Modern Fisheries Science Congratulates NFFO Report “Optimistic, Factual, Cool”
The NFFO is delighted to have received words of appreciation for its recently published…
Hugh on the Back Foot
It is perhaps not surprising that Hugh’s Fish Fight is now mounting a rather desperate…
The Proof: Fishermen had already reduced discards by 90%
The incoming ban on the practice of discarding fish is high on the media agenda at the moment,…
Chairman's Report 2014
The NFFO’s AGM was held in London on 7th May. As his final duty as Chairman, before being…
NFFO Training Trust Grants
The NFFO Training Trust has announced that it will make £50,000 available for…
E-Logs Debacle: Progress at meeting with MMO Senior Officials
The NFFO considers that a breakthrough has been made in dealing with the mountain of issues…
Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society Announces National Limerick Competition Winners
The winners of a national limerick competition to find the best poems in celebration of life at…
NFFO Focuses On Safety With New Recruit
The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) has reinforced its…
Fishing’s Low Ecological Footprint
Confirmation of fishing’s relatively low ecological footprint was provided recently…
Norges Fiskarlag joins North Sea RAC
The Norwegian Fishermen's Association, Norge Fiskarlag, joined the Demersal Working Group…
E-log problems Raised at North East meeting
The latest of several regional and port meetings organised by the MMO and NFFO to address…
Annual General Meeting of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations to be held in the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London on Wednesd
To be held in the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel, London on Wednesday 7th May, 2014.
Fishing for Litter: A Solution to Marine Litter?
Kayleigh Wyles – Researcher from Plymouth University
MPAC Flags up its concerns about MCZ Designation Process
The MPA Fishing Coalition has flagged up its concerns about the sequence of designating marine…
Have Your Hake and Eat It
Leading Chef and UK Fishing Industry Unite To Champion Hake as UK’s Current Most…
EU Norway Debacle points to Urgent need for Reform of Coastal State Governance
Say what you like about the EU Fisheries Council each December with its all-night circus. At…
NFFO Welcomes Final Agreement on North Sea Quota But Says Delay Has Caused Serious Difficulties For Fleets
The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) has welcomed last…
Fishing for Limericks in charity poetry competition
The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) is supporting one of the…
NFFO welcomes Government support to storm-hit fishermen
The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) has welcomed the…
NFFO secures government support for storm hit fishermen, but says more must be done
The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) has welcomed…
Storm support meeting with minister
A National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) delegation is scheduled to…
The Titanic Sails at Midnight
Midnight January 1st 2016 marks the embarkation date for the EU discards ban for our demersal…
NFFO Exec gives full support to MPA Fishing Coalition
The NFFO’s Executive Committee has given its full backing to the MPA Fishing Coalition.…
NFFO Scaremongering? This is what STECF has to say about choke species under the discard ban
Analysis of potential chokes issues The available studies of the potential impacts of…
EU Norway Talks Break down amidst dissent in Norwegian Delegation
The much postponed EU Norway talks for a fisheries agreement for 2014 began in Bergen on Monday…
Tony Takes the Lead
Inshore Fisherman, Tony Delahunty, writes to his local PM asking him to support the fishing…
National Body Calling For Government Support As Nation's Fishermen Take A Battering
Estimates Predict 4,000 Fishermen Affected by Storms, With Losses Running into Millions
Storms: Damage and Disruption
It is not exactly unknown for the weather in January to disrupt fishing operations, even for the…
Dealing with 'Random and Sporadic Recruitment Spikes': Newlyn Meeting
During a brief lull in the gales battering Cornwall last week, an important meeting was…
George Traves MBE
A debt of gratitude is owed by every single fisherman in the UK to George Traves, who has died…
Quota Register
The long awaited register of UK quota holdings has now been published jointly by the four UK…
December Council Outcomes
The “short and brutal” Council which delivered TAC decisions for next year on…
Quota Decisions Must Take Greater Account of Mixed Fisheries
Council Outcomes on Quota Allocations for 2014 Reflect Stock Recovery But More Needs to Be Done…
Council Remains a Critical Fulcrum
The enhanced role of the European Parliament in fisheries decisions and the new emphasis given…
Green Energy Fears For Fishermen
Industry Calls for Cooperation to Avoid Fishing Displacement In the week the Government…
North Sea RAC Takes View on North Sea Cod
The North Sea RAC has suggested that the TAC for North Sea cod should be increased in order to…
A Telling Exchange
Last week, George Monbiot, renowned environmental journalist for the Guardian, launched a…
Making use of their PFDs
Members of Clovelly Shellfishermen's Association making use of NFFO lifejackets. (PFDs)
Government Designates 27 Marine Conservation Zones
The Government has announced details of the 27 marine conservation zones (MCZs) which will be…
Challenges Ahead for the New Fisheries Minister
All the signs are that George Eustice will be a competent and hardworking fisheries minister.…
Accessing More Quota For Small Boat Fishermen - Industry Cooperation Delivers Net Results For Fishing Fleet
A pilot project, which has provided 26 percent more quota to small boat fishermen as well as…
Crab faces Extinction: No it Doesn’t – The Pantomime Goes On
As Jonathan Leak, the Sunday Times’ Environment Editor, was the journalist who last…
ACRUNET Partners Gather for Significant Meeting in Vigo
The 4th ACRUNET (Atlantic Crab Resource Users Network) partner meeting was hosted by Centro…
New Project Sets out Positive Uses for Discards
A discards research project “Utilisation of discards in bait”, funded by…
PO and Under-10 Cooperation Shows the Way
Cooperation between the Fish Producers Organisation and the Ramsgate under-10metre Pilot…
NFFO Executive Plans Autumn Work Programme
The NFFO Executive Committee met recently to plan the Federation’s work programme for…
NFFO Announces new Chairman-Elect
The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations has announced that…
Charlie Dawson MBE 1936-2013
Charlie Dawson was Chairman and then President of the National Federation of…
West of Morecambe Fisheries Fund Opens For Applications
The West of Morecambe Fisheries Fund, established to support fishing communities operating…
Fisherman uses net to share life at sea
Tweeting Trawlerman Tweets From The Deep to Show Reality of Life as a Fisherman
For the Love of Fishing
A blog written by fisherman David Warwick
127 Marine Conservation Zones: Ditching Dogma
Behind the current stand-off in the media between conservation lobbyists and Fisheries…
Skipper Expo International Bristol 2013
An exciting new commercial fishing show focusing on the industry in England and Wales is being…
The Tweeting Fisherman David Warwick
David Warwick has been a fisherman since the day he left school more than 25 years ago.…
MMO taking a critical look at itself
The Marine Management Organisation is taking a critical look at its own performance in a number…
Fisherman uses Net to send "Tweets from the deep"
Trawlerman to Show Harsh Reality of Life at Sea To Help Tackle Industry’s Negative…
Discards Ban
The political decision by the Council of Ministers and European Parliament to place an…
Under-10s: Taking Stock
Now that the shape of the reformed CFP is known in broad terms, and the UKAFPO legal challenge to…
New Data Reveals North Sea Is Teeming
Leading UK Fishing Body Says Dramatic Species Recovery Across North East Atlantic Is…
NFFO Exec Works on Many Policy Fronts
The diversity of the NFFO’s membership was reflected in the wide range of policy…
NFFO responds to High Court ruling on quota reallocation
"The NFFO represents all sizes of vessel and regrets that the issue of quota distribution ended…
FISHERMEN CAST LINE OF ENQUIRY TO GOVERNMENT MINISTER
UK fishermen spanning large, offshore vessels as well as the small-scale fleet challenged the…
Fishing News calls Greenpeace bluff
A row has broken out in recent weeks as Greenpeace criticized Fishing News’ editorial…
Chairman’s Report 2013
We are all aware, I think, that the fishing industry is approaching an important fork in the…
Letter to DEFRA
At our recent meeting on 11th June, MPAC raised a number of concerns with regard to the sequence…
EFF Applications Process must be Reformed
The experience of NFFO members, not just the NFFO, would seem to suggest that the MMO team…
NFFO AGM 2013
Annual General Meeting of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations to be…
Rubbishing Science
It's more than a little strange for Greenpeace, in its attempts to demonise the NFFO, to claim…
Fragility of South East Fisheries
The inshore fisheries in the South and South East of England are facing an unprecedented set of…
Greenpeace’s ignorance will damage small-scale fishermen
The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations response to…
CFP Reform: Froth vs. Substance
A clearer idea of the substance of the reformed CFP emerging from the final stages of agreement…
The NFFO challenges the Observer on its portrayal of the fishing industry
A letter from Chief Executive of the NFFO, Barrie Deas, in response to the Observer’s…
First Tentative Steps towards Regionalisation of the CFP
Even before the ink is dry on the CFP reform, the first tentative steps towards regional…
Fishing Industry Views Brought to the Heart of the Conservation Agenda
At the request of the Norwegian Government, the NFFO has presented the fishing…
Fishing Livelihoods Must Not be forgotten in European Marine Sites Management
The NFFO is warning that industry must be given sufficient time to engage and present evidence…
The Fortunes of Fishing in Yorkshire
There are few places in the UK that can equal the Yorkshire coast for the diversity of its fishing…
Council Mandate Brings CFP Reform Closer
The agreement reached by the Council of Ministers in Brussels in the early hours of 15th May…
Fishing Industry unites to cut man overboard deaths
Leading names within the UK fishing industry have united to promote greater safety at sea by…
North Sea RAC meets the Norwegian Fishermen’s Association
The Demersal Working Group of the North Sea Regional Advisory Council (NSRAC) travelled…
CFP Reform: Critical Decisions Imminent
The Council of Ministers meeting in Brussels on 13th and 14th June could turn out to be a pivotal…
NFFO West Coast Committee Hard at Work
The NFFO West Coast Committee met in Morecambe on 9th May to address the wide range of issues it is…
NFFO Training Trust and Anglo-North Irish FPO Work together on Fishing Vessel Safety
The initiatives undertaken by the Anglo-North Irish Fish Producer Organisation, supported…
NFFO Brokers South East Quota Initiative
The NFFO has brokered an agreement between a number of producer organisations and under-10m…
WWF: A Worrying Development
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is apparently considering withdrawing from the Regional…
Council of Ministers: CFP Reform in the Balance
The Council of Ministers held in Luxembourg on 22nd April will not go down as one of the decisive…
CFP Reform: NFFO urges focus on practicality issues
An NFFO delegation has travelled to Luxembourg where EU fisheries ministers are discussing…
Fishing in Freefall
The International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES)’s most recent advice has…
NFFO Slams Greenpeace For Failing To Act on Real Issues Affecting UK Fishermen
The National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations (NFFO) has slammed claims by…
Electronic Logbooks
The MMO and NFFO have agreed to work together on safety, cost issues and the significantly…
Under-10 metre Stalemate: NFFO Perspective
Progress towards a broadly acceptable solution to the quota shortage problems facing parts of…
Marine Conservation Zones and Fisheries Displacement
The unintended environmental consequences of fisheries displacement have been a central…
NFFO Shellfish Committee Works on removing obstacles to Policy
The NFFO Shellfish Committee met recently. NFFO representatives from Cornwall and Devon,…
Greenpeace Gets its Sums Wrong
We anticipated that having spent a significant amount of money on a media attack on the NFFO…
NFFO Releases ‘Fishing Fact, Fishing Fiction’
The National Federation of Fisherman’s Organisations (NFFO), the body representing…
Test of low impact fishing gear at the Dogger Bank area and an appeal to fishermen to keep a small area free from fishing from April 2013 to July 2014
Scientists from the Danish National Institute of Aquatic Resources (DTU Aqua) are conducting…
Fishing Coalition Urges Industry Wide MCZ Response
The MPA Fishing Coalition (MPAC) is warning that the time to respond to Defra’s Marine…
NFFO Executive Committee Meets in Whitby
The NFFO continued its work at a recent meeting in Whitby.
Work on Next Phase of Nephrops Long Term Management Plan -Invitation to Tender
Sustainable Fishing Plan for the Fladen Nephrops Fishery for the Scottish Whitefish…
Fishing Industry Urges Care Over Marine Protected Areas
On the day that Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall led a march on Parliament, The National…
NFFO South East Committee Highlights Industry Concerns
The NFFO’s South East Committee recently met in Shoreham to discuss a range of issues…
Packed Meeting in Rye to Address South East Issues
A packed meeting of fishermen from Rye, Sussex and Dungeness met on Friday with the NFFO Chief…
NFFO URGES GREENPEACE TO 'FOCUS ON THE FISHERMAN'
The National Federation of Fisherman's Organisations (NFFO), the body representing…
NFFO South West Committee Addresses Marine Protected Areas
Marine Protected Areas will be the main focus of the next meeting of the NFFO South West…
NFFO Welcomes European Parliament Vote but Warns about Practical Implementation Issues
“The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisation has welcomed the vote…
NFFO Releases ‘Fishing Fact, Fishing Fiction’
The National Federation of Fisherman’s Organisations (NFFO), the body representing…
The enemy within (Fishing News/Cormac Burke)
Greenpeace poised to launch major attack on U.K. fishing organization, writes Cormac Burke,…
UK Fishermen’s Organisations Reject Greenpeace Report
UK Fishing Body Says Inaccurate and Propaganda-based Research Runs Risk of Harming…
Letter from the NFFO to The Eurpoean Commission, June 2012
I write further to your confirmation, at the recent meeting of ACFA, that the Commission is…
NFFO Executive Plans Spring Work Priorities
The NFFO Executive Committee met recently in York to plan the Federation’s work…
Technology and Partnership
The recent workshop held in York, organised by the NFFO and Cefas, on different ways of…
Something of a Revolution
Something of a revolution in thinking about the CFP has taken place over the last decade. Ten…
North East Salmon Net Fishery
There is something uniquely mean-spirited and vindictive about the campaign by one of the…
Busy Year Ahead
The Federation faces a busy year ahead. It is always difficult to quickly summarise all the…
Workshop to consider ways to fully document fisheries catch
The NFFO and Cefas are co-hosting a workshop for fishermen, scientists, managers and policy…
Fishing and Cables: Memorandum of Understanding
The NFFO and Subsea Cables UK, the umbrella body for the companies which lay subsea…
The NFFO: Mutuality, Realism and Self-Reliance
The year-end is often a time for self-reflection. In this vein, it could be said that the NFFO is…
President’s Christmas Message Arnold Locker
President of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations
December 2012 Fisheries Council Outcomes
The noticeable feature of the NFFO team in Brussels at the December Council is that reflects and…
December Council
For those of us who have attended too many December Councils, the meeting of EU fisheries…
European Parliament CFP Vote
Commentators are still assessing the significance of the vote in the European Parliament…
Council Breakthrough on Flawed Cod Plan
The Council of Ministers has today unanimously agreed to amend the parts of the EU Cod Plan which…
MCZ Public Consultation
The MPA Fishing Coalition (MPAC) is calling on fishermen to make their voices heard in response…
WWF in Winter
It is slightly strange that the relationship between WFF and the fishing industry varies by…
Council of Ministers: A Tough Negotiation Ahead
An NFFO delegation, reflecting the diversity of the Federation’s regional and fleet…
Zero TACs
Except in a single species fishery in urgent need of dramatic remedial action, zero TACs have no…
Government Sanctions North East Net Fishery Property Grab
Drift Net Fishery Axed
Handline Mackerel Assurances
The NFFO and the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association have met to address fears…
Ron Graham Re-elected as West Coast Committee Chairman
Ron Graham was re-elected as Chairman of the NFFO West Coast Committee at its meeting in…
European Parliament CFP Reform Amendments
The fishing industry has an overwhelming interest in a practical and workable Common…
NFFO Briefs MPs in Advance of the Annual Fisheries Debate
A Federation delegation met recently with the All Party Parliamentary Fisheries Group to…
Oak Foundation and Fisheries Policy
What are we to make of the astounding sums of money put at the disposal of environmental lobby…
The Lessons of Recovery: Taking stock after a Decade of Cod Recovery Measures
As EU and Norway and then next month the EU Council of Ministers, stand poised to depart from…
NFFO Rejects Redistribution of South-West Handline Mackerel Quota
The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations has expressed its strong…
200 Trillion Fish Suppers
There is something frequently missing in the media coverage of fishing’s…
Marine Protected Areas Code of Conduct
MPA Fishing Coalition Calls for Agreed Protocols
Height of Nonsense
Fish, Fishermen and General Public Let Down by the Political Process
NFFO Executive at Work in Newlyn
The NFFO Executive Committee met recently in Newlyn to review the Federation’s…
TACs and Quotas Decisions: A Great Deal at Stake
In the sometimes fractious exchanges within the fishing industry about quota shares, sight is…
Fishing and Science: Changed Days
The fishing industry is more reliant than ever before on fisheries scientists to defend it from…
North Sea RAC Nephrops Work Recognised by Commission
Progress by the North Sea RAC in developing a long term management plan for the nephrops fishery…
The Future of RACs
The future of the regional advisory councils was discussed recently in Brussels at an landmark…
Stocks Outlook: State of Fish Stocks in European Waters
The annual seminar organised by the Commission which marks the beginning of the autumn…
The Most Inaccurate Headline in History?
The BBC has suggested that the Sunday Times front page headline Only 100 Adult Cod Left in the…
NFFO Exec Prepares for Autumn Negotiations
The NFFO’s Executive Committee met recently in York and high on the agenda were…
MPA Bird Talk
The network of MPAs in UK waters is to include sites selected for the protection of birds.
Brid Fights off Harbour Threat
The NFFO has played its part in successfully fighting off Council redevelopment plans for…
Focus on the European Parliament
The Lisbon Treaty has given the European Parliament a central role in agreeing legislation…
One Way Media Traffic on Cod
The Sunday Times announced on its front page that there are only 100 adult cod left in the North…
Federation Criticises Distortions in The Sunday Times' Anti-Fishing Campaign
The Sunday Times has been running a hostile campaign which systematically presents a…
Progressing Shellfish Policy
A delegation of NFFO shellfish interests met recently with senior Defra officials to discuss…
Kilkeel Welcomes Northern Ireland Assembly Environment Committee
The NFFO joined ANIFPO in welcoming representatives of the Northern Ireland Assembly on 3rd…
Federation Salutes UK’s Oldest Fisherman
The NFFO salutes the UK’s oldest active fisherman, Bill Hocking from Looe in Cornwall,…
Welsh Assembly Panders to Noisy Angling Lobby
In pandering to a noisy angling lobby in South Wales, the Welsh Assembly has abandoned any…
NFFO Response to the Commission’s Non-Paper on the Development of a TAC for Seabass
We are wholly opposed to the suggestion that bass should be incorporated into the system of…
The Evidence Free Campaign to Limit Fishing Grounds
Is the fishing industry the victim of double standards? We have become accustomed to offshore…
Commission Proposal for Deepwater Stocks in the North East Atlantic: Response by the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO)
The European Commission has made a Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of…
Meeting With the Marine Management Organisation
The frustrations of dealing with two management bodies was a recurrent theme at the most recent…
Day Trip for Journalists
It's not difficult to understand the appeal for journalists on a day trip to the coast from…
VMS and E-Logbooks: Implementation Issues
The NFFO is pressing the UK Fisheries Minister taking advantage of an EU exemption from the…
Far Away in Time
The frustrating experience of being told by government officials that their hands are tied by…
Deep Water Alarm Bells
Displacement Threat to Recovering Stocks in Western Waters
With friends like these
One wonders how long the corporate types at Greenpeace took to settle on the campaign slogan…
TACs to Increase to Cover Discards
The Commission has made it clear that it is prepared to propose significant increases in TACs to…
Fleet Overcapacity: Problems and Solutions
The European Commission has convinced itself, with the assistance of the European Court of…
Policy Logjam
It has become a commonplace, accepted in all quarters, that the Common Fisheries Policy is a…
A Register of Quota Holdings - Now an Imperative
The requirement for a register of quota holdings (FQAs*) in the UK has now become an absolute…
Maximum Sustainable Yield in Mixed Fisheries
Signs of a less dogmatic approach to the application of MSY in mixed fisheries may be emerging…
NFFO Executive Committee
The NFFO Executive Committee met recently in York to address the main issues currently…
Dose of Legal Reality for No Take Zones
Defra has given the MPA Fishing Coalition a clear assurance that fisheries management…
Further! Faster!
The environmental NGOs' disappointing, although not altogether surprising, response to the…
CFP Reform: Council Agree ‘General Approach’
The Council of Ministers reached political agreement on a ‘General Approach’ to…
Nephrops Work at Critical Stage
Work on a long-term plan for the North Sea Nephrops fishery has reached a critical stage in the…
Black Arts
The Black Arts of media distortion are again moving to the fore, as CFP reform reaches an…
Regionalisation of the CFP
Regionalisation of the Common Fisheries Policy has moved centre stage since the NFFO (amongst…
Northern Ireland Marine Bill: Avoiding the Pitfalls
There is much to learn from the experiences of the UK and Scottish Marine Acts in taking account…
Meeting with Minister on Under-10m Issue
A small NFFO delegation, representing a cross-section of the Federation’s…
Concordat
The recently published and long awaited concordat that will in future govern relations…
New Generation Fisheries Management Plans
The snowy wastes of Svalbard, well inside the Arctic Circle recently hosted an important…
Chairman’s Report 2012
For the fishing industry, this is a period of enormous upheaval and change. The stability, in…
Research Institute undertakes Cod Management Survey
The Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) has been commissioned to undertake…
Wind-farms Fishing Mapping Project
The NFFO and the Crown Estate recently jointly hosted a meeting for representatives of fishing…
AGM
Notice of the 35th Annual General Meeting of the National Federation of Fishermen’s…
Devolution and No Take Zones
In addition to questioning their legal and scientific basis, MPA Fishing Coalition has…
World Fisheries Conference - Special Fishermen's Rates
Only FOUR weeks remaining until the 6th World Fisheries Congress 2012 takes place!
West Coast Committee: Engaging Renewables
The NFFO West Coast Committee has made substantial progress in establishing a working…
Coalition Challenges Scientific and Legal Basis of ‘No Take Zones’
MPAC, the Coalition established to ensure that fishing gets a fair hearing in the…
Stakeholder Meeting on EU Cod Management Plan: London Meeting
The EU Cod Management Plan has been evaluated by STECF and found to be flawed in some serious…
Letter to the Minister: Under 10s Quotas
We are not without sympathy for the dilemma that you face in addressing the problems of the…
EU Cod Management Plan – Meeting with the Commission and Member States to Discuss Interim Arrangements
STECF reported last year that the current EU Management Plan was failing to meet its objectives
European Parliament Debates Regionalisation of the CFP
As the reform process continues, the European Parliament Fisheries Committee recently…
NFFO Executive – March 2012
The NFFO Executive Committee met again recently to address a full agenda.
South East: Comprehensively failed by the Management System
The fishing industry in the Thames estuary has been comprehensively failed by the system of…
RACs Work to Fill Gaps in the Science
RACs are working with ICES to strengthen fish stock assessments.
Marine Management Organisation
An NFFO delegation met recently with senior staff of the MMO as part of our agreed programme of…
Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authorities
An NFFO delegation met recently with Dr Stephen Bolt, the Chief Executive of the Association of…
Sustainability and Governance
After 20 years of what we could politely call sub-optimal performance of the CFP's resource…
CFP Reform: Commission ‘Non-papers’
The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations welcomes the…
The NFFO dissects the Commission's proposals on Maximum Sustainable YieldWhen MSY becomes a fetish.................
Since the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002, all signatories,…
Review of Seafish guidance on potting rollers
Seafish has commissioned NFFO Services Ltd to undertake a study on potting rollers and haulers…
NFFO Executive
The NFFO’s Executive Committee met in York on 7th February to review developments in the…
Coalition Proposes New Approach to MPAs
The MPA Fishing Coalition has had its first meeting of the year with DEFRA, MMO, IFCAs and the…
Effort Control and Selectivity in 2012
The difficult, thankless, task of managing effort (days at sea restrictions) under the EU Cod…
2012 - A critical year ahead
All the signs are that 2012 will be a pivotal year for the fishing industry.
MPA Fishing Coalition Takes Stock
MPAC, the alliance of fishing organisations which was formed to defend access to fishing…
TAC Decisions and NGO Naivity
The Marine Conservation Society has apparently pronounced itself “appalled”…
South East Regional Committee
Chairman Tony Delahunty, Selsey
North East NFFO Regional Committee
The NFFO’s North East Committee has had an exceptionally busy year.
The Common Fisheries Policy: A Failed Experiment in Centralised Control
TACs and Effort Move in Opposite Directions
North Sea
The main North Sea joint stock TACs were agreed with Norway in late November and with the…
December Council: South West Focus
Paul Trebilcock Cornish Fish Producers and NFFO Chairman-elect
South East: TACs and Quotas
Tony Delahunty, Chairman of the NFFO South East Committee, represented the South…
Irish Sea Fishermen “Deflated by EU Decisions”Alan McCulla Chief Executive of the Anglo-North Irish Fish Producers Organisation
After two days of negotiations in Brussels, the conclusion of the EU’s Fisheries…
Effort Control in 2012: Back from the Precipice
The UK, with strong support from France, Germany, Spain, Netherlands and Denmark, managed to…
The Precautionary Approach and Fisheries Policy
The precautionary approach is now well embedded within fisheries science and fisheries…
Commissioner Damanaki and Europeche
For the first time since she took office two years ago, Commissioner Damanaki met recently with…
EU Norway Agreement – Brief Summary of Outcomes
The Catch Quota scheme will have up to 12% cod quota over and above the TAC for 2012 (the same…
Effort Control: Confusion, Confrontation but Precious Little Conservation
It would be hard to imagine a fisheries policy instrument than the EU effort control regime that…
Mixed Fisheries
Many of the really difficult issues facing our industry arise from how to manage mixed…
The Dubious Science of Marine Conservation Zones
NFFO’s Dale Rodmell participated in 3 out of the 4 regional MCZ projects and closely…
Simplification Agenda
Once the year-end quota and effort negotiations have concluded and we begin the New Year, it can…
Reform of the Common Fisheries Policy
Submission Prepared by the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations in…
First Round of EU Norway Talks
The first round of negotiations towards the annual fisheries agreement between the EU and…
Constructive Meeting on Marine Spatial Planning
A constructive meeting with the representatives from the Marine Management Organisation was…
MPA Fishing Coalition Welcomes Minister’s Revised MCZ Timetable
The MPA Fishing Coalition has welcomed UK Fisheries Minister, Richard Benyon’s…
An Absolute Priority
In direct meetings with the UK Fisheries Minister, Richard Benyon, the NFFO has emphasised…
Sam Signs off as RAC Chairman
Past NFFO President Sam Lambourn has recently retired as Chairman of the North West Waters…
NFFO Executive
The NFFO’s Executive Committee met recently in York to deal with a heavy workload of…
NFFO South West Committee Elects New Chairman and Vice Chairman
The NFFO South West Committee elected John Butterwith as its new Chairman at its meeting on 19th…
Cod Plan: Uncertain Future
A meeting convened by the European Commission to consider the future of the EU Cod Management…
NFFO South West Committee Returns to “Usual Business”
The NFFO South West Committee meets next in Exeter on 19th October.
NFFO Shellfish Policy
After careful consideration, the NFFO's Shellfish Committee has adopted a policy on the crab,…
South East Committee Prepares for MPAs
The fishing industry in the South East must prepare itself for a dialogue with fisheries…
NFFO Shellfish Policy: Discussion Paper
The idea of capping effort in the UK crab and lobster fisheries has been in circulation for many…
South East
Fishermen in the South East have asked the NFFO to reinvigorate its South East Committee
Stocks Meeting
A major consultative meeting was held in Brussels on 8th September as a prelude to the autumn…
Online Survey Opens New Era for Fishermen’s Knowledge
In a determined attempt to break with the era when fishermen’s knowledge was invariably…
Marine Conservation Zones Reach Significant Waypoint
With the site recommendations by the four English regional MCZ projects due to be published on…
Fisheries Science and Fishermen
An important change is underway in the relationship between fishermen and fisheries science.
Busy Autumn Ahead
The Federation is gearing up for an extremely busy autumn
Twelve Words and Two Failed Cod Plans
Twelve words have rocked the foundations of the EU Cod Management Plan and have undermined the…
Battle Lines Drawn on Transferable Fishing Concessions
Extreme positions are being adopted and incendiary language used on the issue of transferable…
Sold Out for Bureaucratic Neatness
Defra’s public response to the NFFO’s broadside on the imminent transfer of…
EU Technical Conservation Rules: Mission impossible?
The EU rules which cover technical conservation measures, such as mesh size, minimum landing…
Celtic Sea Points the Way
Work going on within the North West Waters RAC, on a long term management plan for the Celtic Sea…
Minister Prepares to Sell out English Fishing Interests
New devolution concordat will hand over control to Scotland
Irish Sea Cod Enigma
The stubborn refusal of Irish Sea cod to respond to a whole array of conservation measures is one…
Under-10m Pilot Quota Schemes
The Industry/Defra working group charged with developing solutions to the quota problems…
CFP Reform “Wide Open”
The final outcome of the CFP reform is wide open; that was the impression left by Lowri Evans,…
Strange Silence Alarms Salmon Netsmen
Over the last thirty years there has been constant pressure from the powerful and…
What delivers sustainable fisheries?
An interesting and authoritative “global meta analysis” of 345 fish stocks has…
Fish Robbers and Crass Journalism
Reproduced below is a letter sent by the Federation to the editor of the Times complaining about…
NFFO Elects New Chairman
The NFFO has elected Paul Trebilcock, Chief Executive of the Cornish Fish Producers’…
Without Comment
On 25th May the European Commission released its Communication concerning a consultation on…
Wide Range of Issues addressed at meeting with MMO
THE National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) and the Marine…
MPs Briefed on CFP Reform
The NFFO and the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation recently jointly briefed MPs on the…
CFP Reform
We can expect the usual crop of apocalyptic predictions from the mainstream media and…
Response to the Commission’s Communication on Fishing Opportunities in 2012
We welcome the Commission’s clarification over the definition of the term…
Cod Plan: RACs Make Case for Change
The North Sea and North West Waters regional advisory councils have presented their case for…
BBC Fisheries Coverage
The NFFO holds a seat on the BBC’s Rural Affairs Committee.
Commissioner Damanaki, at a recent event at Selfriges in London ..
..to which no fishing industry representatives were invited, again put herself in…
Chairman’s Report 2011
NFFO Chairman, Arnold Locker, recently gave his annual report to the Federation's AGM. It is…
Catch Quotas
A meeting held recently in Copenhagen and attended by the NFFO, assessed the progress made to…
MPA Coalition warns that MCZ Process has reached “Critical Stage”
The MPA Fishing Coalition, the body set up to ensure that the fishing industry has a strong voice…
Firing on All Cylinders
It is difficult to recall a time when the Federation has had to fight on so many major fronts at…
Fishery Science Partnership – New and Continued Projects
Defra recently announced a one-year, £950,000 continuation of the Fishery Science…
Ten Point Plan for CFP Reform
As the European Commission prepares its proposals for CFP reform, the NFFO has published its 10…
NFFO Trust Fund Grants
The NFFO Training Trust Fund, the charity linked to the National Federation of…
MCZ Reference Areas: Rushed, Draconian and Unjustified
The NFFO, member of the MPA Fishing Coalition, is calling for an urgent rethink on reference…
Fisheries Liaison General Manager
The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations is seeking to appoint a dynamic…
Can we make better use of all the fish that are caught in English commercial fisheries?
Marine Theme Objective: Economic and Social Research in the Marine Environment
Shellfish Policy
A Defra consultation later this year will mark a fork in the road for the shellfish fisheries.
North Sea RAC fears knee-jerk reaction on discards
The North Sea Regional Advisory Council (NSRAC) has stated its position on discards ahead of a…
Damanaki “Not Listening”
Each Commissioner quickly establishes a hallmark of their time in office. For Joe Borge it was a…
MCZs: The Opposite of the Big Society
There is a paradox in the way that the present Government is using heavy duty, top-down…
Dear Hugh………… Fight for Fish Campaign
The NFFO has written to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall with some advice on how to take the Channel…
North East Drift Net Fishery
The North East drift net fishery has come under sustained pressure from the powerful and well…
Small Scale Fisheries – thinking through the issues
Commissioner Damanaki’s (if not necessarily DG Mare’s) enthusiasm for special…
Effort Control generates perverse outcomes
Intense discussions between the NFFO and Defra over the shape of the days-at-sea regime for…
Independence and Integrity
One of the guiding principles insisted upon when the NFFO was established in 1977 was that it…
RACs and ICES Plan increased Cooperation
Regional Task Forces will tackle weak stock assessments
A Decade of Paralysis
If the CFP fails to find a way to regionalise its decision-making it will drift into a decade of…
Irish Sea Shores up its Position
Approaching the turn of last year the Irish Sea faced an appalling prospect.
Dutch Progress Conservation Measures for the Dogger, Cleaver Bank and Frisian Front
First discussions towards defining management measures for the Dutch sector of the Dogger…
North Sea Marine Plan
The first marine plan in covering much of UK waters in the southern North Sea will start its two…
A Turning Point in European Fisheries?
Will Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall’s Fight for Fish campaign mark a turning point in the…
The Mixed Blessings of Celebrity – The Fight for Fish
This week sees the start of a major Channel 4 campaign focused on fish and fishing. In a series of…
Overcapacity: European Court of Auditors’ Study
The European Court of Auditors has instigated an investigation into fleet overcapacity…
North West Waters RAC Spells out its requirements for Regional Management
At a recent meeting with the Lori Evans, Director General of DG Mare, the Commission’s…
ICES agrees to Discuss RACs’ Initiative on Weak Assessments
It is a bald reality these days that, in making fisheries legislation, ministers will rarely…
Crucial Year Ahead
2011 will be a crucial year for the fishing industry.
President’s Christmas Message
“The only constant is change”
Flatfish Fortunes: NFFO View
The fisheries for plaice and sole and other flatfish species are amongst the most valuable to us…
There are no technocratic solutions.
The Council of Ministers meeting of December 2010 may come to be seen as the high-water mark of a…
MPA Coalition Reinforces Concerns
The body formed to provide the fishing industry with a voice on how marine protected areas are…
December Council Outcomes
In addition to arguing for TAC and quota levels consistent with the viability of the fleets, a…
Major Showdown Looms over Co-decision-making
A major clash in Brussels over fisheries jurisdiction is looming in Brussels, which could have…
Norway Agreement for 2011
Agreement with Norway on a reciprocal fisheries agreement for 2011 was reached at the end of a…
Fragmented and United
The diversity of the NFFO’s membership is one of its most noticeable features. Our…
Coalition Faces Period of Intense Activity
The MPA Fishing Coalition, the body established to ensure that the fishing industry has a voice…
Irish Sea Recovery
The apparent failure of cod recovery measures applied to the Irish Sea demersal fisheries…
Flexibility and Functional Units
The International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES)
Commission has Lost its way on Discards
The Commission seems to have lost its way on discards. Although the rhetoric is still there -…
Simplify the Science!
ICES reviews its stock assessment models
French, Belgian and Irish Fishing Organisations join the MPA Coalition
The body set up by the UK fishing industry to ensure that the fishing industry’s voice is…
Marine Management Organisation
The turbulence inside the Marine Management Organisation associated with the abrupt…
Priorities for the December Council
For as long as total allowable catches and days-at-sea restrictions are fixed at the December…
Natural England Brought to Heel
The Government’s cull of quangos is likely to carry huge implications for the way that…
Displacement from Fishing Grounds
The inevitable and understandable fear in the fishing industry at present is that the…
South East Ports Visits
NFFO President Davy Hill and Assistant Chief Executive Dale Rodmell visited ports in the South…
Update on the New Control Regulation/Detailed Rules
The new Control Regulation was forced through the Council of Ministers in October 2009 to beat…
Joint Approach Agreed Between Two Federations
Leaders of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation and the NFFO met recently in London to…
Round Table meeting with Commissioner Damanaki
European Commissioner Maria Damanaki heard recently from a range of marine interests on the…
Dolphin Cafe Dialogue
The Dolphin Cafe adjacent to Peterhead fish-market recently provided the venue for informal…
Port Meetings Validate Long-term Plan
The North Sea Regional Advisory Council is well through its programme of port visits to discuss…
Cause or Effect in Effort Control: A Fundamental Question for Cod Recovery
Fisheries scientists at the recent seminar on the state of European fish stocks, in Brussels,…
NFFO Elects New Team for Challenges Ahead
At its recent Annual General Meeting in York, the NFFO elected its new President, Kilkeel…
European Fish Stocks: Positive Trends
At a major seminar on European fish stocks held recently in Brussels, organised by the European…
Holding Natural England to Account
The MPA Fishing Coalition, of which the NFFO is a core member, has continued its important role…
Coalition Responds to New European Marine Sites Announcement
The latest batch of European marine sites includes designation of the controversial site in…
The NFFO’s contribution to the discussions on the under 10m quota problem is reproduced below.
The reintegration of under-10 metre vessels into the mainstream quota management system
Progress on Under-10m Front
A ground-breaking meeting involving representatives from all sides of the fishing industry…
NFFO AGM 2010
The NFFO’s annual general meeting for 2010 will be held, in York, on 6th September.
North Sea Stock Survey 2010
The NFFO in collaboration with the North Sea Regional Advisory Council and other…
RACs Plan to Strengthen Fisheries Science
Regional advisory councils, frustrated at continuing weaknesses in many ICES fish stock…
The Future of Producer Organisations in the United Kingdom: The Evolution of Delegated Responsibilities
The NFFO and UKAFPO, the representative body for producer organisations in the UK, are to…
EC Advisory Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture
The NFFO holds a position on the EC Advisory Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture (ACFA) and…
UK Federation's hold first meeting with Damanaki.
The NFFO and Scottish Fishermen's Federation recently held their first meeting with new EC…
“No Concerns”
The NFFO says that it has “no concerns” following Richard Lochhead, the Scottish…
Constructive First Meeting with Minister
An NFFO delegation, representing the diversity of the NFFO’s membership, met recently…
Executive Thanks Special Advisor
At its most recent meeting, in Newlyn, the NFFO Executive thanked Barry Edwards for his five…
MPA Coalition Outlines Work Programme
The MPA Coalition met recently in Fishmongers Hall, in London, to shape its future work…
Reform Process Adrift whilst Fault Lines Appear on Technical Measures
CFP reform seems to be adrift after the lead Commission official on the reform process,…
Nephrops: Taking it to the Ports
North Sea RAC takes its Ideas for a Long-Term Management Plan for Nephrops to the main prawn…
NFFO Exec Meets the MMO
NFFO Exec Meets the MMO Marine Management Organisation, Chief Executive, Steven Gant and his…
New Administration Outlines Broad Approach
A large breakfast meeting between the Secretary of State and all of the new Defra ministers…
South West Fishing Industry Unite In Response to MCZ Proposals
The fishing industry in the South West came together in Exeter on 5th May to discuss initial…
CFP Conference Marks New Stage in Reform Process
A major conference on the main CFP reform marked the end of one phase and the beginning of…
Bristol Channel Talks
A third round of talks between NFFO and Redercentrale, the representative body for Belgian…
Bringing Fishermen’s Knowledge into the Heart of Science and Policy
In the same way that a few pathfinder bees will arrive ahead of the swarm, the annual fisheries…
MPA Coalition Builds Wide Support
The MPA Coalition has attracted support from every part of the UK and beyond.
Sustainable Access to Inshore Fisheries Advisory Group (SAIF) Consultation: NFFO Response
This paper is the NFFO’s response to the SAIF Proposition Paper which was circulated on…
MSY: Aiming at a 2015 Fisheries Nirvana
First moves to operationalise a Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) approach to European…
Catch Quota Project Q + A
The NFFO met recently with Defra officials to discuss the details of the DEFRA Catch Quota…
NFFO Supports Channel Undulate Ray Initiative
The NFFO has written to the Fisheries Minister, Huw Irranca-Davies, urging him to support the…
First Engagement with new MMO
The Marine Management Organisation will be launched on 1st April.
Effort Limitation in the Shellfish Fisheries: NFFO Policy
At a meeting in London on 9th March 2010, the NFFO Shellfish Committee reviewed its policy…
Preparation for Marine Spatial Planning: Newcastle Conference
A formal system of marine spatial planning may still be some years down the road but when it…
Major NFFO Policy Review on Brown Crab
Brown Crab will be the focus for a comprehensive examination of policy when the NFFO Shellfish…
New Industry Body formed to Fight MPA Issue
A new industry body has been formed, supported by two national federations, NFFO and SFF and…
Omega Net Gauge: Mishandled and Flawed
The introduction of the new Omega net gauge has been seriously mishandled and there are…
Coalition’s Landmark Opening Engagement on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
The founding organisations of the new MPA Fishing Coalition met recently with Natural…
Days at Sea
The decision to close the English whitefish fleet down for the last week of the effort year, to…
UK fishermen unite in their condemnation of negative portrayal of fishing in TV programme
The UK’s two main UK fishermen’s federations have thrown their support behind an…
Offshore Wind Farms: Co-existence or Conflict?
The announcement on January 8th by the Prime Minister on plans for a further 32GW of offshore…
GES-Work
The terminology, “Good Environmental Status”, and “Marine Strategy…
NFFO Article on Low Environmental Impact of Fishing goes “Viral”
A short but important article on the NFFO website is having an impact in the United States.
With a little help from our friends............
It is a basic reality of fishing politics in the 21st century that next to nothing can be achieved…
Annual Fisheries Debate: Endorsement for the NFFO’s Views
The annual Fisheries Debate is the main opportunity during the year for the Government to…
CCTV Debate
Council of Ministers, EU/Norway negotiations and internal government meetings where UK…
UK Publishes its Response on CFP Reform
The UK has now published its response to the Commission’s Green Paper on CFP reform.
Radio 4 Platform for Federation’s
NFFO Chief Executive Barrie Deas and Fisheries Minister Huw Irranca Davies in this programme…
Fishing: a valuable source of food with low environmental impact
One of the peculiarities of fisheries politics over the past 10 years or so has been the level of…
Days at Sea in 2010
One of the Federation’s priorities for January is to agree as far as possible with Defra…
New Era of Co-Decision Making
The Lisbon Treaty means that from here on in all decisions on European fisheries issues will be…
NFFO Yearbook 2010
The 2010 NFFO Yearbook has now been distributed to NFFO members.
Outlook For 2010: Chairman’s Overview
NFFO Chairman Davy Hill Looks Forward into the New Year
December Council
TACs and Quotas for 2010
Quota Talks Begin in Brussels
The annual quota negotiations have begun in Brussels following a late evening meeting between…
Outgoing Borg on the Future
Commissioner Joe Borg, outlined his views on the future direction of travel for Commission…
NFFO’s Response to the CFP Green Paper
The NFFO’s response to the Commission’s Green Paper is now complete and will be…
NFFO Challenges MPA Science Panel
The NFFO has heavily criticised the appointment of what Defra is calling an…
Commissioner Challenged on “Cosmetic” TACs
EU Fisheries Commissioner, Joe Borg, was challenged by the NFFO to move beyond TAC reductions…
Quota Negotiations for 2010
Preparation for this year’s quota negotiations began in April, with preliminary…
Norway Talks Break Down
A short lived third round of EU Norway talks in Bergen this week failed to rescue the annual…
“Work with the Industry Not Against It” NFFO South West Committee Tells Natural England on Inshore MPA Proposals
The NFFO South West Committee questioned Natural England over its proposed inshore Special…
New High Level All-Industry Body Formed to Fight MPA Issue
Launch of MPA Fishing Coalition Early Next Year
Federations Brief Westminster MPs
The NFFO and Scottish Fishermen’s Federation recently briefed Westminster MPs in…
NFFO West Coast Committee Focuses on Inshore Issues
The NFFO West Coast Committee brought together Bella Murfin, Defra's head of the Access to…
Commission Forced to Back Down on Technical Rules
A Commission proposal to hand itself additional powers to apply technical rules has been…
Battle to Curb Technical Conservation Fiasco
Commission Proposals “Reckless and Irresponsible”The European…
Edinburgh Conference Points the Way for a Reformed CFP
NFFO Chief Executive, Barrie Deas, one of the speakers at the recent RAC conference on decision…
10% Margin of Tolerance from 1st January
The Council of Ministers, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, adopted a 10% margin of…
North Sea RAC Condemns Rush to beat Lisbon
The North Sea RAC has issued a stiffly worded press release criticising the Commission's drive…
MPs Warned “Short-sighted Greens Cannot Cripple MCZ Designations in Marine Bill”
The NFFO is calling on MPs not to allow simplistic and ill considered green lobby calls to limit…
MFA Meeting on Current Issues
Members of the NFFO Executive met with the Marine and Fisheries Agency in York recently, to…
Nobel Prize Boosts Prospects for CFP Reform
The kind of CFP reforms pressed for by the NFFO, have received a tremendous boost by this…
Rush to beat Lisbon will result in Flawed Technical Rules
Briefing Note on the Proposed Technical Conservation Regulation
New Start on Irish Sea Management
The failure of cod recovery measures in the Irish Sea and what might be done to replace the…
NFFO Leads Campaign on margin of Tolerance
The NFFO is spearheading a campaign to extract the margin of tolerance issue from the new…
Major UK fishermen’s federations meet shadow fisheries minister
A meeting was held on Friday 18 September at the Northern Irish Parliament in Stormont
Marine Licensing: The Opportunities and Risks
As the Marine Bill concludes its final stages in parliament before passing into law, the NFFO is…
Federation in Intense Dialogue on Marine Protected Areas
Fishermen are more vulnerable than any other marine group, and marine protected areas had the…
“Make Your Voice Heard” Calls NFFO Shellfish Chairman
A project to assess the relative merits of alternative management approaches for the brown…
Electronic Net Gauge
The EU exemption from using the new electronic mesh gauge expires on 1st September.
West Coast Committee Engages the Irish Sea Marine Conservation Zone Project
The NFFO West Coast Committee at its recent meeting held in Barrow-in Furness was given…
NFFO AGM
The NFFO’s AGM will this year be held in St William’s College, York, on Thursday…
Control Regulation Moving Fast
The new EU Control Regulation is moving rapidly towards adoption by the Council of Ministers in…
Scientific Advice for TACs and Quotas in 2010
The NFFO played a full role in a major meeting organised recently by the European Commission to…
Sledgehammers and Nuts: What do Drugs Barons, Terrorists and Fishermen have in Common?
The recent conclusion of the long-running court case about fish landings in Newlyn, has…
ICES Advice: “Most Stocks Stable”
In an overview given to a major consultative meeting on the Scientific Advice on European fish…
There’s “Overfishing”, then there’s “Overfishing”
“Overfishing” is a widely used phrase, especially in the media. But it…
Commission Double Standards on RAC Advice
Shifting goal posts and weak assessments cripple ICES advice
Crewing Crisis: Joint NFFO/SFF Delegation
A joint delegation from the NFFO and the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation met recently…
TACS and Quotas for 2010
The process of establishing Total Allowable Catches and Quotas for 2010 has begun with the…
North Sea Stocks Survey 2009
The NFFO in collaboration with the North Sea Regional Advisory Council and other…
Real Time and Area Closures
Real time closures are now established as a significant feature of the Cod Recovery Plan.
Shellfish Consultation
An NFFO delegation met recently with Defra officials and the Shellfish Association of Great…
NFFO Speech on CFP Reform
The NFFO recently shared a platform with European Fisheries Commissioner, Joe Borg at an event…
Crewing Chaos
The new Home Office polices on the entry of non EEA nationals to the UK threatens to cause chaos in…
The End of the Line
The current press excitement over the film The End of the Line raises two fundamental…
Don’t Misunderstand our Position on Effort Control
The NFFO has written to the UK Fisheries Minister Hugh Irranca-Davies to reaffirm its…
Marine Stewardship Council
An NFFO delegation recently met the MSC at its London headquarters.
NFFO and SFF meet to Build United Approach on Effort Control
The two national federations, the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations…
John Dent Taylor
24 June 1960 – 10 May 2009
CFP Reform
The publication of the Commission’s Green Paper on CFP reform has started a process of…
Scottish Quota Climbdown
It has been evident for some time now that the Scottish administration’s proposals for a…
NFFO Hosts the 2009 Buckland Lecture
One of the prestigious Buckland Lectures will this year be held to coincide with a meeting of the…
Celtic Sea Effort Control
There are signs that the arguments put forward by the NFFO, Cornish Fish Producers’…
Fisheries: The Missing Layer in Marine Planning
Under the Westminster Marine Bill and the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the…
Starter Kit for Bone Idle Journalists
The recent spate of superficial and sensationalist stories appearing in the media has…
RAC adopts NFFO Irish Sea Proposals
At its recent meeting in Paris the North West Waters Regional Council adopted the NFFO’s…
North Sea RAC Works on Long Term Management Plan for Nephrops
A strong NFFO delegation recently attended a North Sea RAC meeting in Edinburgh which has been…
Port Visits Programme to be Basis for Mapping Programme
Alan McCulla to forge industry response to Marine Conservation Zones and Offshore…
NFFO North East Committee Demands Realistic Approach to Whiting TAC
Overall, the North Sea whiting TAC tends to be underutilised but inflexibilities in the…
The Dangers of a 2.5 Year Marine Protected Area “Quick-Fix”
The stark reality that the government’s predefined timeframe will lead to the…
Constant Vulnerability to Prosecution With No Purpose: The NFFO Spells Out the Margin of Tolerance Issue
At a recent meeting with senior Commission officials, in Brussels, the NFFO spelt out the…
NFFO and SFF Agree Joint Approach on Effort Regime and CFP Reform
The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation and the National Federation of…
Crab and Lobster Measures: “Must be Considered, not Rushed” Says NFFO’s Shellfish Committee Chairman
Following questions raised to the Fisheries Minister at the NFFO’s Annual General…
Offshore Windfarms: The Crown Estate
A meeting between the Crown Estate and the NFFO was held recently at our York Offices, to discuss…
NFFO Response to the Interim Outcome of Consultation Report February 2009
The NFFO recently formally responded to the Scottish Executive’s “Interim…
NFFO West Coast Committee Reconvenes
The NFFO West Coast Committee recently reconvened in Lancaster.
Light Dues Exemption
The Lighthouse Authorities are consulting on an increase in the light dues charge.
Effort Control: The NFFO Position
The NFFO remains engaged in intensive discussions with Defra over the implementation of the…
NFFO Urges Under-10s to Appeal
The NFFO has urged all fishermen who operate under 10m vessels and have been allocated a limited…
NFFO works with RACs to change new Control Regulation
The NFFO is working intensively with the North Sea and North West Waters regional advisory…
Three-day Meeting on the Future of the CFP
Federation representatives recently attended a major three-day meeting with senior…
NFFO South West Committee Gains Seat on Finding Sanctuary
The NFFO South West Committee has secured a seat on the Steering Group of Finding Sanctuary.
Food Security: NFFO Evidence to Parliamentary Committee
A Parliamentary Committee, chaired by former Fisheries Minister Michael Jack MP, recently…
St Thomas’ Hospital Dreadnought Unit: A Facility open to the Fishing Industry
NFFO members are reminded that the Dreadnought Unit of St Thomas’ Hospital in London is…
Irish Sea Fisheries Science
Unless fishermen have confidence in the science on which their quotas are based and the rules…
Self- Regulation: An Alternative to Fisheries Micro-management
The Commission’s proposal for a new Control Regulation has triggered a strong reaction…
Scottish Economic Link Proposal Punctured
The Scottish Executive’s long awaited reaction to a consultation on the establishment…
Belgian Fishing Effort in the Bristol Channel
Belgian fishing industry representatives met recently with Bristol Channel Fishermen in a…
JNCC insists that it has listened and will listen on Marine Protected Areas
JNCC, the Government’s statutory advisors on nature conservation, has written to the…
Dogger Bank Marine Protected Area
A pre-consultation meeting between the NFFO and the Government’s statutory advisors…
The future of fisheries lies in Long Term Management Plans.
The challenge is how to establish a process that integrates biology and economics and places…
Interim Effort Regime
The NFFO has reached broad agreement with Defra on the shape of a UK interim days-at-sea regime.
NFFO on the Road: Fishermen Call for Greater Involvement in Marine Science for Offshore Development Projects
There should be more effective ways for fishermen to provide information on the environmental…
Debate on the Future of the CFP Starts in Earnest
The debate on the CFP after 2012 started in earnest this week with an exchange of views between…
Fisheries Science Projects for 2009/2010
The Federation will shortly be submitting its suggestions for fisheries science projects for…
Minister Provides Clear Assurances on Marine Conservation Zones
Fisheries Minister Huw Irranca-Davies gave the fishing industry clear assurances on its…
Science Breakthrough
A meeting in Copenhagen in mid January may prove to be a breakthrough to a better kind of…
Discards: The Dangers of Posturing
Although no formal announcement has yet been made, there are signs that the…
Effort Control in 2009
The NFFO is currently engaged in intensive discussions with Defra officials on the form that…
New Marine Management Organisation
The first of a series of meetings on the shape and role of the new Marine Management…
New Control Rules
A meeting was held recently with Defra officials in the NFFO offices in York, on the…
December Council Media Coverage
"Hostile and sometimes ill-informed, superficial comment can be highly damaging to the…
Cornish Fish Producers’ Organisation
DECEMBER 2008 FISHERIES COUNCIL
Fisheries Council’s Disappointing Outcome for Local Fleet
The disappointing result of the December 2008 EU Fisheries Council has not come as a surprise to…
December Council TACs and Quotas for 2009
Key features of the December settlement for Fishing Grounds
December Council Overview
This year’s Council of Ministers meeting to decide TACs and quotas for 2009 was held in…
NFFO Yearbook
The NFFO Yearbook for 2009 has now been circulated to member organisations for distribution to…
Reducing Industry Costs
Federation Urges Wholesale Review of Regulation Costs
Mandatory Carriage of Epirbs on all 12-15 metre fishing Vessels
The NFFO puts a lot of effort into ensuring that statutory safety rules are practical and cost…
The EU Norway agreement for reciprocal fisheries arrangements in 2009 was agreed on 10th December
The EU Norway agreement for reciprocal fisheries arrangements in 2009 was agreed on 10th…
Belgian Fishing Effort in the Bristol Channel
Fishermen in the Bristol Channel have repeatedly raised concerns about the activity of…
NFFO Team Heads for December Council
The NFFO has fielded a strong team to attend the December Council where critical decisions on…
Rough Justice for Under 10s
The Federation agrees that there is a major problem of latent capacity in the under-10 metre…
Fishermen’s Knowledge: Annual Fisheries Reports
One of the breakthroughs of the last ten years has been the recognition by ICES scientists and…
NFFO Issues Raised with Commissioner Borg
The NFFO used its position on the Advisory Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture (ACFA) to…
NFFO Exec Strengthens Positions on Year-end Negotiations
The NFFO Executive Committee met recently in York to strengthen and fine tune the…
NFFO South West Committee wins Backing from the Shark Trust for Sustainably Managing Rays
At the latest NFFO South West Committee meeting, the Shark Trust gave strong backing to the…
EU Norway, Second Round, Brussels 24th to 28th November 2008
The second round of EU Norway talks for a reciprocal agreement in 2009 concluded on Friday 28th…
EC Plans New Control Regulation
The European Commission has plans for a new Control Regulation for European Fisheries.
Irish Sea
As the December Council approaches, the Federation is preparing a strenuous defence of the…
Dogger Bank : North Sea RAC opens Discussions
The Demersal Working Group of the North Sea Regional Advisory Council met recently in a…
Celtic Sea: Days-at Sea Decision
No one should underestimate the achievement of keeping the Celtic Sea out of the EU cod recovery…
The Common Fisheries Policy after 2012
The NFFO has secured a place on an influential committee that will make recommendations on…
The BBC and Fishing
The NFFO holds a seat on the BBC’s Rural Affairs Committee.
Revised Cod Recovery Plan
The Council of Ministers was held in Brussels on 18/19 November 2008.
Shirtsleeves Meeting on Council Priorities
The NFFO and Defra officials got down to the detail of the UK’s priorities for the…
Port Visits Builds Links
Alan McCulla’s port visits on behalf of the NFFO are proving to be an effective way of…
Shellfish Conservation: Finding a way forward
A recent meeting of the NFFO Shellfish Committee considered the way forward on crab and lobster…
Natural England: Marine Conservation Zones
The NFFO met the Board of Natural England recently to discuss the Marine Bill and how Natural…
Norway Negotiations
The annual EU Norway talks are a complex set of negotiations over two rounds that, amongst other…
Briefing for MPs
The NFFO will shortly provide its annual briefing for MPs in advance of the annual fisheries…
Prawns – a UK and an NFFO Priority
Nephrops make a vitally important contribution to the earnings of the UK fleet
Critical Decisions on Celtic Sea Cod at November Council
The signs are mounting that the November Council of European fisheries ministers is likely to…
Cod Recovery and Discards Will Dominate December Council
Cod recovery is expected again to dominate this year’s December Council
December Council: Urgent Briefing for New Minister
As NFFO News went to press the NFFO was due to meet the new Fisheries Minister Huw…
Minister’s First Meeting with Federations
New Fisheries Minister, Huw Irranca-Davies, met with the two UK Federations, NFFO and SFF,…
European Fisheries Fund Discussions
In a constructive meeting with the Marine Fisheries Agency the NFFO has concluded that Fleet…
Fast Learning Curve for new Fisheries Minister
How Irranca-Davies MP has replaced Jonathan Shaw as UK fisheries minister following a…
North Sea RAC Takes Strong Stand on Discards
The North Sea Regional Advisory Council, of which the NFFO is a prominent member, adopted a…
NFFO in Key Meeting on Marine Conservation Zones
“We are determined that this will not be some kind of marine Highland Clearance”
NFFO South East Committee Response to the Defra Consultation Paper “The English Inshore Fleet – Looking to the Future”
The NFFO South East Committee represents fishermen from the ports of Folkestone, Rye,…
President’s Opening Remarks at the NFFO AGM held in York on 23rd July 2008
We meet in the most difficult of times. The rapid increase in fuel prices to unprecedented…
Scottish Executive Consultation on a Separate Quota System in Scotland: Response by the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations
This paper responds to the Scottish Executive’s consultation paper Safeguarding our…
Chairman’s Report - 2008
National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations
NFFO Fights on Access Issues
The Federation is heavily engaged in discussions with various bodies over offshore…
Light Dues Go
One by-product of the fuel price crisis is the end to the wholly discriminatory light dues…
Marine Conservation Zones - Process “Deeply Unsatisfactory”
At the NFFO’s AGM, Fisheries Minister Jonathan Shaw was told that the…
New NFFO Chairman
Skipper Davey Hill from Kilkeel in Northern Ireland, has taken over the Chair of the National…