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.
This means ensuring that the input is not just confined to ICES and the European Commission but is expanded to includes bodies such as the Regional Advisory Councils to ensure that the whole cod recovery question is brought into the wider context.
One of the key issues running through this is the impact of global warming on stocks. One scientific projection anticipates that seawater temperatures around the UK will rise by three to four degrees C in the next 100 years, which would have a devastating impact on cod stocks, forcing the species to retreat north to areas such as Greenland and the Barents Sea.
“It is important that we look at long-term objectives and think in such terms,” states NFFO chief executive Barrie Deas. “How do we implement management measures against the background of cod being a species naturally in decline.
“If there is a review, then it is vital that it is not narrowly focused but instead brings in all interests involved in the cod fishery. A decade of measures to help the cod stock has not delivered recovery, yet the industry has been crucified.
“If the broader science is saying that the cod stock is not recovering because of climate change, then we need to be taking this into account.” |
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