14 October 2013
Cooperation between the Fish Producers Organisation and the Ramsgate under-10metre Pilot Group is going well. The PO has been able to facilitate quota swaps and transfers that have kept the Ramsgate vessels fishing throughout the year with minimal discards.
The
NFFO which brokered the arrangement following a meeting between the operators
of larger South East under-10s in and the
English producer organisations in April of this year, puts a lot of
store in this kind of arrangement as a model for the future.
Ramsgate
skipper, Eddie Temple, said “The FPO has been doing a marvellous job on our
behalf with swaps etc…..”
Chloe
Rogers, Quota Manager for the Hull based FPO said “The cooperative
arrangements between the Ramsgate Group and the FPO seem to be working very
well. We have been able to access additional quota for the boats by plugging
them into our usual swaps and transfers arrangements. This is part of our
normal work as PO managers but it is of real benefit to the boats concerned and
helps to achieve full utilisation of UK quotas.”
Barrie
Deas, Chief Executive of the NFFO added, “Having established the benefits of
this approach, our aspiration is to extend it to those other parts of the
under-10m fleet, which periodically face quota pinch points. The idea is
straightforward: to put professional quota management skills and contacts at
the service of the under-10 which face periodic quota shortages. It’s not magic
but it does create access to additional quota for boats which need it. The
central point is that the quota is tailored to the needs of the boats
concerned.
“We
would be interested to hear from any other under-10 groups who feel that they
could benefit from this kind of approach.”
“We acknowledge that
the Ramsgate group is relatively small and has certain advantages – not least
being able to work in both the North Sea and Eastern Channel. But no one should
underestimate the power of professional quota management to improve access to
quota. This is the key to moving forward on the unde-10m issue. It is not for
everybody and many smaller under-10s are content with the flexibility that the
under-10 pool provides. But for the high catching end of the under-10 fleet
it’s got to be the way to go. The Federation would be happy to put under-10
groups in touch with willing POs.”