News Headlines

President’s Opening Remarks at the NFFO AGM
We meet in the most difficult of times. The rapid increase in fuel prices to unprecedented levels, combined with our reliance on the auction system (which prevents us from simply passing on higher costs) has put the fishing industry in a uniquely vulnerable position.
14/08/08 l Full story

Scottish Executive Consultation on a Separate Quota System in Scotland
This paper responds to the Scottish Executive’s consultation paper Safeguarding our Fishing Rights: The Future of Quota Management and Licensing in Scotland.
13/08/08 l Full story

National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations
Chairman’s Report - 2008 Fuel Crisis
In recent years the fishing industry has faced more than its fair share of tribulations.
13/08/08 l Full story

NFFO Fights on Access Issues
The Federation is heavily engaged in discussions with various bodies over offshore developments that could have direct consequences for the fleet, including loss of access to fishing grounds.
13/08/08 l Full story

Light Dues Go
One by-product of the fuel price crisis is the end to the wholly discriminatory light dues charge on fishing vessels.
04/08/08 l Full story

Marine Conservation Zones - Process “Deeply Unsatisfactory”
At the NFFO’s AGM, Fisheries Minister Jonathan Shaw was told that the Government’s plans for a network of conservation zones, some of which could prohibit fishing were forging ahead without consultation with the fishing industry.
04/08/08 l Full story

NEW NFFO CHAIRMAN
Skipper Davey Hill from Kilkeel in Northern Ireland, has taken over the Chair of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations.
01/08/08 l Full story

NFFO’s Three-Strand Strategy on Fuel Cost Crisis
The NFFO’s Executive Committee met recently to hammer out the Federation’s policy on the fuel price crisis.
28/07/08 l Full story

Impressive Demonstration but Shaw Fails to Deliver
The two national fishing federations staged an impressive demonstration on 3rd June in support of the industry’s leaders as they met UK ministers to discuss the impact of rising fuel costs.
09/06/08 l Full story

Fuel Price Protest
Fishermen will demonstrate at the Fisheries Ministry in London to highlight the lack of Government support on fuel prices.
30/05/08 l Full story

Pressure on Shaw to Deliver on Fuel Support
Fisheries Minister, Jonathan Shaw, has again been urged to put a support package in place for the fishing industry in view of further surges in the price of fuel oil “as a matter of extreme urgency.” ...
23/05/08 l Full story

Scottish Executive in Pre-emptive Quota Strike
The Scottish Executive moratorium on the transfer of licences and FQA units is a pre-emptive strike. It has all the signs of an opening skirmish in a major battle, as the SNP led minority government in Edinburgh pursues separatist fisheries policies in Scotland.
22/05/08 l Full story

Minister Commits to Support on Fuel Costs
The NFFO, at a meeting in London on 14th May, pressed Fisheries Minister Jonathan Shaw for government support in light of the impact of rising fuel costs.
15/05/08 l Full story

NFFO Fuel Costs Campaign
The NFFO has launched a campaign against the Government’s refusal to recognise the impact of rising fuel prices on the economics of fishing and needs fishermen to get involved!  
23/04/08 l Full story

Photos of NFFO Port Visits
Alan McCulla, Chief Executive of the Chief Executive of the Anglo Northern Irish Fish Producers’ Organisation, who has been touring fishing ports on behalf of the NFFO since January, was in East Anglia for the final leg of the 1st round, 7th - 9th April.
09/04/08 l Full story

NFFO Services in Mauritania!
In March 2008 NFFO Services took on an international flavour.At the start of the year, Dave Bevan had an informal discussion with representatives of PGS Marine Geophysical, a seismic company operating a fleet of seismic vessels across the world.
09/04/08 l Full story

What Does the NFFO Think of the Marine Bill?
We won’t know what the full impact of the Marine Bill will be for many years, as it only a framework for future legislation.
09/04/08 l Full story

NFFO Fights to Reduce Harbour Dues and Cancel Light Dues
The high price of fuel continues to jeopardise the viability of many UK vessels.
09/04/08 l Full story

New Era in Fisheries Control
A conference in Peterhead, organised by the North Sea Regional Advisory Council, marks a radical break with the past, according to the event organisers.
27/02/08 l Full story

NFFO Backs Defra Kw Days Scheme as the Least Worst Option
The NFFO has decided to back Defra’s plans for a national Kw days scheme from 1st February 2008, as the least worst option on offer.
31/01/08 l Full story

NFFO Criticises Commission Proposal for New Regulations on Illegal, Unregulated and Unrecorded (IUU) Fishing
Aside from the fact that NFFO members are systematically disadvantaged through distorted competition on the markets because an estimated 10% - 15% of the EU’s fish trade is based on IUU fish...
31/01/08 l Full story

Restricted Fishing in 10,000km² of UK Waters
Nearly 10,000 square kilometres - 4,000 square miles - of sea around Britain could receive special protection, depending on the outcome of a consultation, which closes in March.
21/01/08 l Full story

NFFO to Resist Exclusion Zones in Recreational Sea Angling Strategy
Fisheries Minister Jonathan Shaw recently launched a draft Recreational Sea Angling Strategy to boost the sport’s numbers whilst helping to improve fish stocks and the marine environment.
21/01/08 l Full story

NFFO to Criticise Plans for Massive Expansion in UK Offshore Renewable Energy
The NFFO Executive Committee heard at their last meeting in December 2007 that the Government had announced plans to dramatically increase the amount of electricity generated off UK shores...
16/01/08 l Full story

Effort Control in 2008
The Federation is scheduled to meet senior DEFRA officials on Tuesday 15th January to discuss the future of the effort control regime.  The Scottish Government is determined to trial a system of effort based on a national ‘pot’ of Kw days rather than the present gear categories.
09/01/08 l Full story

Whiting Selectivity
As part of the TAC deal with Norway it was agreed that the EU would examine ways of improving the exploitation pattern for whiting during 2008.
09/01/08 l Full story

Port Meetings with Alan McCulla
Alan McCulla, Chief Executive of the Anglo Northern Irish Fish Producers’ Organisation, is to visit ports in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, on behalf of the NFFO, this year.
09/01/08 l Full story

December Council: Cuts, Questions and Missed Opportunities
Despite much hype about “front loading” and “good governance”, the December Council once again revealed itself as a deeply flawed process. In the final outcome, in the early hours of Wednesday morning, member states were bullied, bribed and cajoled into agreeing further deep cuts in days at sea, along with a number of changes to TACs.
20/12/07 l Full story

December Council: Devolution, Nationalism and
Effort Ceilings
The difference between the NFFO and the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation towards the introduction of effort ceilings is quite stark. Whilst we see the scheme in terms of Commission ambitions to constrain fleet effort at arm’s length, the SFF, the SNP led Government and the Scottish White Fish Producers Association see a pot of days managed by the member state as providing increased flexibility at member state level.
20/12/07 l Full story

December Council: Cod Avoidance
In the extended preparations for the Council, the Federation succeeded in persuading the UK to make the introduction of cod avoidance plans the centrepiece of its discard reduction programme.
20/12/07 l Full story

December Council: Fuel Costs
The high price of fuel in the second half of the year has seriously retarded the initial signs of a more buoyant operating climate that had made a showing in the first six months. Along with other European fishermen’s associations, the NFFO has pressed the Commission to provide financial support whilst the fishing industry, adjusts to the new era of high energy costs.
20/12/07 l Full story

December Council: Beam Trawls
Beam trawlers in 2008 will be subject also subject to a 10% cut in days but secured an important footnote that allows for the allocation of additional days if a member state has exhausted its days before their quotas.
20/12/07 l Full story

December Council: Irish Sea
There is certainly no celebratory mood in ports around the Irish Sea following the outcome of the December 2007 Fisheries Council.
20/12/07 l Full story

December Council: The South West
The December Fisheries Council finished during the early hours of Wednesday 19 December in Brussels, when the TACs and quotas for 2008 were finally agreed. The negotiations took place against the usual background of extreme and draconian proposals from the Commission for big reductions in a number key TACs and quotas for the CFPO.
20/12/07 l Full story

December Council: The North East
The main North Sea stocks were agreed in the EU negotiations with Norway on 25th November. An 80% reduction in North Sea whiting quota was recommended by ICES, and initially supported by Norway. As part of the deal to moderate this level of cut it was agreed to take steps during 2008 to improve the selectivity of gears that take whiting.
20/12/07 l Full story

December Council: Channel Cod
Channel cod is a very important stock for a wide number of fleets. Given that the French hold 78% of the quota it is natural that France takes the lead in this stock.
20/12/07 l Full story

December Council: Pelagics
Although most of the important pelagic quotas are agreed at meetings involving the main coastal states and at EU/Norway, the Council provides an opportunity to reflect on the fact that the pelagic sector faces some very severe reductions in the coming year, not least a 41% cut in North Sea Herring.
20/12/07 l Full story

NFFO focusses on 2nd round of EU/Norway negotiations
The NFFO (National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations), recently represented the interests of English, Welsh and Northern Irish fishermen at the crucial 1st round of EU/Norway Negotiations which opened 5th November in Bergen.
15/11/07 l Full story

NFFO elects David Hill as new chairman
Skipper David Hill from Kilkeel has recently been elected as the next Chairman of the NFFO, The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations.  He’ll take over from the current Chairman, Fred Normandale, next year.
15/11/07 l Full story

Eliminator trawl should avoid cod
Arnold Locker (Locker Trawlers, Whitby), a member of the NFFO (National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations) returned last week from a very successful trip to Rhode Island, USA where he examined a radical new trawl known as the Eliminator, which should massively reduce cod discards.
15/11/07 l Full story

Bass Decision Right On All Counts Says NFFO
“Jonathan Shaw’s decision to draw back from his predecessor’s decision to increase the Minimum Landing Size for bass from 36 cm to 40 cm was right on all counts,” said Dave Pessell, Chairman of the Bass Action Committee, an NFFO coordinated campaign group.
15/11/07 l Full story

Divide & Rule?
There is a real concern that the recent election of the SNP Government in Scotland will seriously jeopardise the interests of fishermen in the rest of the UK.
05/06/07 l Full story

Bass Minimum Landing Size:
Action Group secures undertaking from Bradshaw
Fisheries Minister Ben Bradshaw has given the Bass Action Group an undertaking that he will not lay the Statutory Instrument, giving effect to an increase in the minimum landing size, until he has had an opportunity to review the arguments and evidence presented to him at an 11th hour meeting.
16/05/07 l Full story

Cod review will be be major challenge
Cod is the big issue facing the Common Fisheries Policy this year and the NFFO will be working hard to use this opportunity to bring commonsense into the cod recovery plan.
21/04/07 l Full story

NFFO Slams Seafish Appointments
The criteria that will be used to select two new appointees to the Seafish Board have been deliberately set to leave the mainstream English, Welsh and Northern Irish catching sectors without a voice. The NFFO has bitterly condemned the criteria which specifically require “knowledge, understanding and expertise in the catching sector and its impact in Scotland.”
11/01/07 l Full story

Cod review
It is looking inevitable that there will be a major review of current cod recovery measures and the Federation will be pressing for it to be as broad ranging as possible.
06/06/06 l Full story

IoM plan rejected
It appears that the UK Government has thrown its weight behind the Federation’s opposition to plans put forward by the Isle of Man for full control of its waters out to its 12 mile limit.
25/05/06 l Full story

Gesture politics of the worst kind
A ban on the use of deepwater gill nets that was pushed through by the back door at the December Fish Council has been condemned by the NFFO as gesture politics of the worst kind.
18/04/06 l Full story

Fuel price action
One of the major issues for the Federation this year will be to try and find measures for reducing the impact of high fuel prices.
22/03/06 l Full story

RAC objective
One of the priorities of the North Sea RAC this year will be to develop long term management plans for the fishery with the aim of reaching key objectives.
15/02/06 l Full story