13 April 2015
A new regional committee, established to reflect the views of fishermen in East Anglia, came out of the blocks running at its inaugural meeting, held recently in Norwich. Statements of intent were agreed on shellfish management, marine protected areas, working with the local IFCA, and dealing with offshore wind farms.
The Committee will cover the coast from Donna Nook to
Harwich and will reflect the views of the predominantly inshore fleet in that
area. The NFFO already has regional committees for the North West, North East,
South East and South West; they cover the interests of those fishermen in the under-10s,
shellfish, and over-10 non-sector fleets.
A chairman, vice-chair and representatives to the NFFO
Executive Committee will be agreed at the next meeting but in the meantime, the
Committee was keen to get down to business.
“The Committee, were clear that if fishermen are to have any
influence whatsoever they must work together to put their view forward in a
clear and coherent way,” said Barrie Deas NFFO Chief Executive, after the
meeting.
“There were a number of clear strands running through the
meeting. Many of the stocks we are dealing with here are considered data-poor by scientists and fisheries
managers. This doesn’t mean that they have a poor conservation status – in many
cases quite the opposite – but it does
carry implications: data-poor stocks are generally treated in a more
precautionary way than stocks on which more information is available.”
“The Committee, drawing on the conclusions of the NFFO Shellfish
Summit last October, concluded that a concerted effort should be made to obtain
better information on which management measures are based in the future. Too many
management measures, including the EU drift net ban and the Eastern IFCA’s emergency
measures for whelks, are based on inadequate information. We need to put into place
mechanisms that generate and a use robust information
from the industry; this will complement the more formal assessment techniques with
fishermen’s knowledge. This is as true of the crab and lobster fisheries, as it
is of the local shrimp and bass fisheries.”
“Another area of concern was the lack of a coherent
management approach. Often, poorly thought-through management measures just
shift the problem, along with fishing effort, to an adjacent fishery. This
knock-on effect is because vessels have to earn a living somehow and fisheries
managers, at the moment don’t take this into account adequately.
“As well as management measures based on inadequate
knowledge, the Committee is also concern that the Eastern IFCA pays lip service
to the views of the industry. Establishing an East Anglia Committee, will
hopefully hold regulators – from the IFCA, through the MMO and DEFRA, to the
European Commission, to greater account. Fishermen should not be at the bottom of
the pecking order, after NGOs and anglers.”
“The Committee recognises the scale of the challenges facing
the industry in East Anglia and the need for the industry to develop a coordinated
response. This determination to work in unison to overcome differences and
address the multiple issues facing the East Anglian industry was impressive to
witness.”
The agenda for the Norfolk meeting covered:
- Purpose of an East Anglian Committee
- Election of officers (deferred)
- Crab and lobster fisheries
- Shrimp fisheries
- Whelk emergency measures
- Latent capacity
- Offshore renewables
- MPAs
- Drift net ban
- Bass Conservation
- Landings obligation
- MMO and Eastern IFCA governance issues
- Safety at sea