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.

Barrie Deas, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) said,

“This moratorium is profoundly undemocratic and will adversely affect many of the NFFO’s members whose vessels happen to be registered in Scotland. It is driven by a separatist agenda that goes well beyond the powers granted under the devolution settlement.”

To date, licences and quotas have been freely transferable across the UK. This is the first step in an attempt to establish a separate quota regime. A consultation paper expected later this week will spell out the Scottish Government’s intentions. The fear of a flight of licences and quota to a safer haven south of the border appears to be the motive for the moratorium.

The fact that the Scottish Executive has not shared a draft of the text to Defra officials until Friday (15th May) is testimony to the desperate state of relations between the two administrations on the issue.

“In the first instance this move will mainly hurt licence holders in Scotland as their assets in quota and licence will immediately have lost value”, said Barrie Deas, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations. “But it will affect the whole UK industry, creating uncertainty over business decisions and distracting ministers and officials when their time would be better spent confronting the real issues in fisheries.”

“This move is provocative, highly irresponsible and probably illegal,” he said. “There is no such thing as Scottish or English quota. There is UK quota. If the Scottish Executive has any doubts over this, a brief telephone call to the European Commission should allay any doubts.”

“There is no basis in law for the Scottish Executive to apply unilateral measures that will have serious consequences across the UK industry. The devolution settlement is simply not pertinent to this question”.

“We will be urging Defra to resist irresponsible and unprecedented move,” he added.