13 February 2014
Estimates Predict 4,000 Fishermen Affected by Storms, With Losses Running into Millions
The National Federation of
Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO), which represents fishermen across England,
Wales and Northern Ireland, is calling for an urgent meeting with the
government to address storm damage as UK fishermen are being prevented from earning
a living due to the bad weather and poor infrastructure. Fishermen along the
south west coast of England and in Wales have been hit hardest by the unprecedented
stormy weather conditions and could face up to two months of no fishing without
any compensation for loss of earnings.
The government announced yesterday
a £5,000 grant for those business affected by the storms and floods and extra
help from banks via ‘payment holidays’ and loans. According to the NFFO it is
essential that fishermen are factored into this support.
Tony Delahunty, a fisherman from Selsey
and the NFFO’s Chairman-elect, believes it is the most sustained and ferocious
weather he’s seen in his 40 years in the industry: “In all my time as a
fishermen, never has the weather been so violent and so extreme. We have had
bad weather, but this situation is unprecedented and is causing huge disruption
to the industry.”
On top of keeping fishermen from
making a living, the combination of high tides and extreme gales has hammered
infrastructures, including vessels, harbours, sea defences, shingle beaches and
static fishing gear. There are also real concerns for the stocks as crabs,
lobsters and whelks are being found washed up on the beach.
Barrie Deas, Chief Executive of the
NFFO, said: “The government has a responsibility to maintain the infrastructures
under emergency conditions to allow fish to be caught, landed and sold. We need
to sit down as a matter of urgency and work out what funding is available and
how it can be best channelled to put our industry back on an even keel. These
are very exceptional circumstances and I want to explore with Defra and the
government agencies what support can be provided.
Estimates suggest 2,000 boats and
around 4,000 fishermen are being affected by the weather and losses could run
into the millions. Looting is now also emerging as a problem, after the
Maritime and Coastguard Agency reported items being taken from a vessel wrecked
against rocks near Porthcothan in Cornwall.
“After a poor start last year,
fishermen are taking another battering and the money has to be found to replace
damaged equipment,” continued Mr Delahunty. “It is a desperately worrying
time. Everybody has families and mortgages to think about and it could be many
months until the industry can recover.”
Even larger trawlers, usually able
to go out in bad weather and relied upon to provide continuity of supply to the
UK fish market, have only been able to snatch short periods at sea before being
forced to return to shore. Now, because of short supply, some whole prices of
fish have nearly doubled in just six weeks. There is concern some fishermen
will be tempted to take more risks and go out in weather in which they normally
wouldn’t.
Mr Delahunty added: “All of this
amounts to a serious setback for the industry at a time when the boats have
enough to contend with, adapting to new marine protected areas, quota
reductions and the imminent arrival of a discard ban. Plus, with some quota
species being seasonal, meaning they’re only allowed to be caught at certain
times of the year, it is forcing fishermen to take greater risks, despite
already working in one of the most dangerous professions in the UK.”
Across the Irish Sea, fishermen
are also struggling to get out in their boats and the concern is that there
could be a repeat of last winter when persistent gales and unseasonably bad
weather prevented fishermen from going to sea. It was so prolonged that
fishermen were eventually granted hardship funds from the Northern Ireland
Executive.
While it is in the fishermen’s
favour that a precedent has already been set in terms of accessing financial
support, the Northern Irish fishing industry is conscious of not becoming
dependent upon subsidies. However, these are exceptional circumstances arising
from an unprecedented weather pattern justifying urgent government
intervention.
For more information visit https://www.nffo.org.uk/