News - Page 12 of 40

2017 Council Overview

15 December 2017

This was a different kind of December Council in a number of important ways. Many delegations were delayed by weather; UK fisheries Minister George Eustice returned early to London to participate in a crucial parliamentary vote; and we felt the sharp end of the EU’s inflexible approach to maximum sustainable yield. The Commission was in fact particularly intransigent throughout the negotiations. It also seemed to forget that the centrepiece of its policies is the landing obligation that fully comes into force on 1st January 2019 and that all TAC decisions ought to support, rather than undermine, that particular policy - which is going to be difficult enough to implement as it is.

December Council. Back off on Bass!

11 December 2017

A strong NFFO team is present in Brussels for the December Council, which begins today in Brussels. The Commission has made seabass a central issue for the Council, by proposing an even blunter approach than currently exists, with the prospect of even larger levels of discards of bass caught as unavoidable bycatch in the mixed fisheries.

Norway outlines its Post-Brexit Vision for the North Sea: Sustainability requires cooperation

30 November 2017

During the annual EU/Norway negotiations, this year in Bergen, the Norwegian delegation gave a presentation of its preliminary views on the type of joint management arrangements for the North Sea that it thinks will be necessary to accommodate the UK as an independent coastal state after March 2019.

EU/Norway Negotiations

30 November 2017

The EU and Norway delegations paused in their negotiations in Bergen for an annual reciprocal fisheries agreement, to mark the 40 year anniversary of the talks.

European Impasse Generates Technical Conservation Fears

30 October 2017

There are deep concerns within the fishing industry that an impasse between the European member states and EU Parliament over technical conservation rules, will leave fishermen in the wheelhouse, or on the deck, in an impossible position of having to obey two conflicting rules. This is potentially important for our fleets in the UK, because constraints on Parliamentary time in Westminster could mean that EU technical conservation rules retained from the CFP could be with us for some time after the UK leaves the EU in March 2019.

Brexit Work

27 October 2017

Whilst the Exit talks in Brussels judder forward, on both sides there is a great deal of activity taking place just below the surface. As might be expected, the NFFO is fully engaged in building the conditions for a positive outcome for the UK fishing industry. Our activities were reported to our AGM, on 11th October, where the UK Fisheries Minister also confirmed Defra’s commitment to a clear but smooth departure from the EU and therefore, legally and logically, the Common Fisheries Policy.

EMFF Roadshows

25 October 2017

The MMO has initiated a series of roadshows to increase the industry’s awareness of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and to encourage grant applications from working fishermen. The date, time and venue of the next round of roadshows is below.

Salmon – Over Precautionary Approach

24 October 2017

Salmon fishermen on the Northumberland, Durham and Yorkshire coast again face a period of great uncertainty as regard to their future. The issue now is a perceived problem with global salmon stocks which is being politically manipulated into an attempted closure of all these fisheries for motives that have absolutely nothing to do with conservation. It is all about “Who gets the fish”.

Irish Sea Fisheries Funding

23 October 2017

The NFFO has welcomed new funding for projects to support Irish Sea fishing communities. The funding is a mark of the good co-operation that currently exists between the fishing communities that operate in and around the Walney Extension offshore wind farm and the owners of the wind farm, Ørsted (formerly known as DONG Energy).

Fisheries Management Safety Implications – Robert Greenwood, NFFO Safety and Training Officer

23 October 2017

It is fair to say that impact on safety of fishing vessels at sea has not generally been to the forefront when Government has contemplated new fisheries legislation. In retrospect, however, it has been possible to discern that management measures can carry with them direct and significant adverse safety implications, as an unintended consequence of those decisions. In particular, we have seen the size and shape of fishing vessels change, and vessels used for purposes that they were not designed for, in the wake of, and to adapt to new legislation. This note is a plea for safety considerations to be an integral part of the process of designing fisheries management measures, not an afterthought.

Serious Risk of Under-fishing

9 October 2017

A group of international scientists is currently looking into whether the fisheries in our waters are now seriously under-fished, forgoing landings amounting to something in the region of 5% of the global catch of wild fish. Dr Henrik Sparholt, who for many years held a senior position within ICES, recently presented an outline of a research project to understand this development with more precision, to a meeting of the Executive Committee of the North Sea Advisory Council.

Brexit and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority

2 October 2017

Intense behind-the-scenes work is continuing both in preparation for the exit negotiations and for the post-Brexit fisheries regime in the UK.

Norway Study Trip

28 September 2017

An NFFO delegation of 11 has recently returned from a study tour to Oslo and Bergen to learn in detail how Norway operates as an independent coastal state; experience that is likely to be very relevant when the UK leaves the European Union. Discussions with the Norwegian Ministry for Fisheries in Oslo, senior officials of the Norwegian Fishermen’s Association and key personnel in the Fisheries Directorate as well as the Marine Institute, also touched on the kind of bilateral arrangements that the UK and Norway might aspire to post-Brexit.

Work Under Way on December Council Priorities

31 August 2017

Sleeves were rolled up in London recently, as large teams from NFFO and DEFRA/Cefas got to grips with the issues that are likely to feature in this year’s December Council.

Cornish AGM: Brexit Focus

8 August 2017

Fisheries Minister, George Eustice, and a team of senior DEFRA officials used the Cornish FPO’s recent annual general meeting to provide an update on preparations to leave the CFP.

Changes Ahead to Safety in Fishing

24 July 2017

As part of the preparation for the implementation of ILO C188, the first meeting of a special Fishing Industry Safety Group (FISG) to develop a voluntary safety management code was held at the NFFO office in York.

Bolder Management of Spurdog Recovery Vital

21 July 2017

The latest scientific advice on spurdog points to the reintroduction of a bycatch allowance as the most sensible management strategy to recover the stock. This would prevent the needless discarding of dead catch, remove an incentive to retain smooth hound as substitution, and restore the evidence base generated by the fishing fleet that underpins management decision-making.

Irish Sea Turnaround

11 July 2017

“I told you so” is rarely an attractive phrase. But it is difficult to avoid a tone of grim smugness when speaking about the 375% TAC increase in this year’s scientific advice for Irish Sea cod. So long regarded as a basket case, ICES has dramatically revised its perception of the stock and altered the assumptions that support its model. The advice has shifted from a zero catch in 2012, and a minimal bycatch in 2016, to a healthy allocation in 2018, with the stock considered to be above maximum sustainable yield trigger.

Labour and Fishing

7 July 2017

The Labour Party intends to engage much more closely with the fishing industry than it has done the past. It is doing so in order to equip itself to be an effective and influential official opposition in fisheries. As a baseline for its policies, it needs a sound understanding of the issues confronting all parts of the industry.

Round table with Secretary of State

6 July 2017

The top DEFRA ministerial team, led by Secretary of State, Michael Gove, met recently with key UK stakeholders to hear their aspirations and discuss the risks associated with the UK’s departure from the EU.

Withdrawal of the UK from the London Convention Confirmed

4 July 2017

The Federation has today received the following letter from the Secretary of State, Michael Gove:

Fishing and Brexit

3 July 2017

Fishing will be a sort of litmus test for Brexit. As the UK begins the process of leaving the EU, we have entered a period of extreme uncertainty. The outcome of the exit negotiations, and the kind of trade relations that the UK will have with Europe after it leaves, will be dependent on many complex factors, not least whether an agreement will be possible at all.

Laying the Foundations

3 July 2017

The Fisheries Bill contained in the Queen’s speech, along with the Government’s announcement that the UK will withdraw from the 1964 London Convention, are important developments that signal that the legal foundations are being laid for a post-Brexit fisheries regime in the UK’s exclusive economic zone.

National survey to give a voice to UK fishing communities

27 June 2017

Over the summer maritime charities Seafarers UK and Cornwall Rural Community Charity (CRCC) are working together to carry out a UK-wide project to survey fishermen, their families and fishing communities. The survey aims to understand community and individual needs and challenges better, and to identify examples of projects or activities that are working to tackle these.