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. The Commission has apparently signalled that if the UK moved to a system of KW days in 2008 it would sanction a huge (between 20% and 50%) increase in effort on 2007 to lubricate the introduction of the new system.

The NFFO is taking a highly sceptical view. It has long been a Commission tactic to inflate new TACs to ease the introduction of new arrangements only to ratchet them down in subsequent years. Western Channel sole is a recent example, which this year saw a 15% reduction. Our view is that only the gullible and terminally naive would believe that there will be any permanence to this generosity. We also have a number of fears about drifting into a system that appears to offer short term advantage but that could make it more difficult to remove effort control that is supposed after all, to be a temporary reinforcement of the cod recovery plan.

Although the current effort regime is complicated, blunt and in some ways perverse, it is understood by the industry and provides a degree of headroom under which vessels have been on the whole viable. Our concern would be that a national kilowatts scheme would see the rapid erosion of that headroom after an initial honeymoon period. The Commission have had ambitions since 2001 to introduce a system where its hand remains on the tap but it bears no responsibility for the ensuing drought.

The NFFO will be insisting that before a KW days scheme is introduced in any part of the UK (even on a pilot basis) its implications are well understood. Given the Scots’ enthusiasm for the early introduction of a KWdays scheme, the issue is likely to become enmeshed with the Scottish Government’s plans for a separate quota management and licensing scheme in Scotland. Already a number of vessels have submitted notice of resignation from Scottish POs as a precaution against redistributive policies that are under consideration.