Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon is in Devon today.

Fisheries minister Richard Benyon is in South Devon today and due to make an announcement with consequences for local fishermen with regard to catch quotas. This may be good news for the under 10m sector who have suffered from reduced fishing opportunities. This is the first time the minster has been in the region since the extent and range of the new Marine Protected Areas were revealed, many of which are found close to the shores of Devon and Cornwall.

Jim Portus from the PO has penned these words in support of the visit today:

Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon MP accepts kind invitation of SWFPO Ltd to tour new Brixham Fish Market and to meet the fishing vessel owners of that Organisation over a hearty local-caught fish breakfast at the Fishermen’s Mission.

Jim Portus, Chief Executive of SWFPO Ltd, is very pleased to be welcoming Richard Benyon to Brixham at last. He said, “We invited the Minister soon after the election in May 2010, as soon as Richard Benyon had been appointed. Sadly his port-folio has made him a very busy man and, I guess, he’s had to spend more time than he’d like in his Westminster offices. We are very pleased that the timing of his eventual visit at least now enables him to see the market and facilities in all their finished glory. We were so proud to welcome HRH The Princess Royal to officiate at the grand opening just 2 weeks ago and now we have our Minister to show-off these magnificent yet functional buildings.

“The Minister will tour the quayside from 0700. He will see the various types of boat in the local fleet and see fish being sold by BTA auctioneer, Barry Young. He will be guided by Jim Portus plus the Chairman of the SWFPO, boat owner and fish merchant, Bill Brock. In the tour party will be local Member of Parliament, Sarah Wollaston, whose constituency covers Brixham town.

“Providing answers to the Minister’s questions about the fleet will be local boat owners Dave Langdon, Alex Philip and Graham Perkes. Rick Smith, the manager of Brixham Trawler Agents, is also a Director of the PO. He will discuss marketing issues with the Minister and answer all-important questions about dealing with “discards” if the new CFP in 2013 brings in a ban on this awful waste.

“After the tour outside, the Minister will be welcomed to the Fishermen’s Mission by Superintendent John Anderson. The industry and the Minister will enjoy a traditional Brixham Breakfast of fresh local fish, served with Bread & Butter and mugs of hot tea.

“It will be a working breakfast and the Minister will be quizzed about such as Marine Conservation Zones. He will be asked to reassure local fishermen that they will not be made to suffer closed fishing grounds that, through EU loop-holes remain open to foreigners.

“There will be questions about proposals to regulate the English Scallop industry, proposals to put local beam trawlers under CCTV surveillance and proposals to put “big brother” satellite monitoring technology in the wheelhouses of all inshore boats.

Jim Portus is also chairman of the UK Association of Fish Producer Organisations. He added, “We know that the Minister is launching today in Brixham his long-awaited consultation on “Fisheries Management Reform in England”. Some of his proposals will be welcomed and others will be rejected firmly. The biggest fear facing vessel owners across the country is the Ministers proposal to “re-deploy” some fishing opportunities from one sector to another. This will be seen as “robbing Peter to pay Paul” and we will have to study very carefully the proposals and absorb the Regulatory Impact Assessment to understand the implications on our members. If we have to refer to legal opinion we will. It is the job of the Producer Organisations to ensure that our members achieve the maximum possible benefit within the CFP constraints. We remain hopeful that we will not have to defend our members’ interests by challenging the Minister’s ultimate decision.

Here's a story from pre-election days when he was shadow Fisheries Minister and visited Newlyn to meet local industry representatives.