FFL - BREXIT - BOOM OR BETRAYAL FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF BRITISH FISHERMEN?

Fishing for Leave have just posted their response to the Fisheries Bill published last week.

The CFP of “equal access to a common resource”, and “relative stability” shares of internationally agreed Total Allowable Catch (TAC) disproportionately eschewed against the United Kingdom, has deprived British coastal communities of our nations own resources.

Worse, to compound this, ill-founded, arbitrary management was imposed by bureaucracy as misguided as remote. This has wrought environmental and economic damage on a colossal scale that need not have happened.
Often missed or maligned is the degradation, emotional heartache and trauma inflicted upon one of the unique ways of life, communities and heritage within the British Isles. It has been a sad travesty and injustice perpetrated by government of all hues.

Many have seen generations of heritage and the very existence that defines who they and their families are smashed, heartbreakingly, in many instances, probably irretrievably. Brexit provides a huge opportunity to reverse all of the above by repatriating control of our resources and implementing environmentally and economically fit for purpose policy. To that end we welcome many facets of the governments white paper. Especially welcome is acknowledgment that the United Kingdom will be an independent coastal state which presents an opportunity to “implement policy and management on the UK’s terms and for the benefit of UK fishermen”.

Redressing the current arrangements and policy acknowledged as either unsatisfactory, or in need of improvement, is an “acid test” that must be delivered upon. However, we are concerned that the Fisheries White paper is aspirational but significantly lacks detail.

Some of what is written appears to be contradictory, i.e. auctioning repatriated resources vs it being a national resource for public benefit and good.
It is a particularly unsatisfactory (and a legal and diplomatically dangerous statement) that the UK will “move towards” fairer shares away from relative stability. These are instantly our resources upon leaving.

We are also concerned by advocacy of retaining of policies that will never work. Proposals of policies such as auctioning repatriated quota, or the system of allocating resources which cannot be sold for profit to cover for species that would need to be discarded to comply with quota rules, are felt to be illfounded,
ineffectual non-starters by our members and others.

Adoption and continuation of management and policies as is, whether EU or British, will see Brexit be the industries epitaph. Brexit is one unique opportunity to break from 40 years of failure. If political convenience, vested interests or opinion derived from a lack of operational experience of fishing is heeded then fishing will be another British industry consigned to museum and memory.
The paper that follows is written after consultation with not only members of Fishing for Leave but other associations and POs of a similar mind.
The following is what we all in common feel is the detail necessary to implement new, bespoke policy to achieve the proof of the pudding that we believe industry, government, NGOs and importantly the public want to see.

Future British Fisheries policy must facilitate environmentally applicable sustainable management to allow this British industry, and its dependent coastal communities, to rejuvenate and thrive. Through deriving maximum economic benefit from a national resource through a broad range of economic diversity where all fishermen and communities around these islands can prosper for generations to come.

It is vital that government now, for the first time, listens to the practical experience of those at the coal face with unrivalled operational and biological knowledge and does not pander to convenience or virtue signalling. We have been blessed with the opportunity of freedom and independence to decide and write our own future. It cannot be squandered.

Yours sincerely,
Fishing for Leave

Entitlement of quota - FFL viewpoint.

Answering FFLs Position On Fishing Entitlement

REPATRIATED RESOURCES

FFL are adamant that all repatriated quota is held as a national resource and is divided out to all fishermen in a community.

Under the principle of one ton to one boat. If someone doesn't use their slice it goes back in the pot to be divided again.

That is what we've represented to the highest levels of government repeatedly and has had some acknowledgement in the white paper.

This is in spite of the SFF insisting all repatriated resources are distributed through the current Fixed Quota Allocation (FQA) system which has facilitated consolidation.

ECONOMIC LINK

We are adamant their needs to be a stronger economic link that British fishing vessels must comply with.

This is to realise what all policy should aim to deliver - that is maximum benifit from a national resource to communities. Whether through administration or sustainability.

We advocate 60% British ownership and 60% British crew - with a five year dispensation for 100% foreign in all waters. This is until new policy attracts British lads to a post Brexit industry on the up.

Most importantly, it must be stipulated that 60% of catches must be landed, sold and processed in the UK. This would revitalise ports, processors and their buying power.

Any foreign vessel granted access must also land here to deliver economic benifit from resources caught in our waters and ensure complaince.

This is to clamp down on flagships and stop them behaving like fishing tourists. Be a genuine British boat or pack your bags.

SLIPPER SKIPPERS & QUOTA RENT

We have been the only fishing organisation to highlight slipper skippers. Michael Gove hadn't been informed of this blight that until FFL had meetings with him.

We are adamant that slipper skippers should be banned, that any boat to boat rent is capped at 3% of the gross realised on that quota.

This is to end the financial illiteracy of ever more money being thrown at quota.

It's curently bleeding 40-60% of profit from the fleet. It is stifling reinvestment and curtailing wages which would incentivise young men.

Any fishing entitlement should be under the same stipulations as in Norway and other Nordic countries. Entitlement must be held on an active vessel, if not within two years you must use it or lose it.

QUOTAS WILL NEVER WORK

Quotas will never provide accurate science, as you only see caught what the quota is set to - not the natural predominance or fluctuations of stocks.

They will never conserve fish as we either discard to find what we can keep or stop the fleet on exhausting their lowest quota with choke species under the discard ban.

They mean we will always harvest out of balance with nature as we are imposing our own targets and trying to hit them.

Anyone advocating retention of quotas is seditiously trying to protect vested interests or doesn't have a clue about the practicalities of a mixed fishery such as ours.

They'll never work for fishermen due to the above because you either have to spend more time and money at sea discarding or choke and go bust.

As the system doesn't work its been a race to the bottom buying ever more Fixed Quota Allocation (FQA) unit entitlement to stagnate (FQAs = quota stocks and shares).

This drives consolidation to a few big corporates, killing coastal comminities and heritage that draws young men to an otherwise hard occupation.

All through nothing more than stupid policy where a select few hope they'll pockle the system to be the last men standing.

Those few MPs standing behind a federation that advocates this for an easy ride/sell should hang their head in shame.

Having a few big companies in a few big ports won't secure coastal communities and constituencies.

REFINED EFFORT CONTROL

That's why FFL advocates a system of refined effort control with Flexible Catch Compositions ( FCCs). We're happy the government proposes trials but they must be meaningful not designed to fail. They must crack on asap and not listen to those trying to stop them.

If the system won't work there is nothing to lose or hide from trying it, but everything to gain if it succeeds.

Under such a system everyone is limited to an equal, sustainable amount of fishing 'soak' time monitored by sensors as hours gear is deployed.

Such a system automatically solves and delivers allowing everyone big or small, static gear or mobile, an equal opoortunity to reach their potential and make a living.

Soak time is derived from calculating how long it would take the whole fleet to catch all the resources in a sea area amalgamelated together.

This makes it's impossible to overfish an ecology as we do currently discarding over the limits to find what we can keep under quotas.

FQAs are converted to FCCs which give the sustainable mix of species you should aim to catch. This preserves the investment and entitlement in FQAs for the bigger holders.

Exceed those percentage and you can keep what you catch. This means you've caught less but can land more and provides accurate data.

However, to stop a race to fish for high value or vulnerable species, any 'wrong' fish incurs a penalty of time equivelant to the value of the fish.

The 'wrong' fish pays for the time but there's no benifit to target the wrong mix as it curtails your year.

As there's time for the crime science knows what it sees is an accurate reflection of stocks and we'll get the TAC mix into line.

As there's no quotas and everyone gets a slice of time to fish it means; No rent. No consolidation and a chance to have a profitable industry that gives young lads a chance to make a career from deck to wheelhouse.

Most importantly as accurate catch per hour per size/type of gear is recorded it delivers a highly accurate Catch per Unit of Effort (CPUE) system.

This is the holy grail of accurate science to deliver sustainable fishing which reflects and is in line with natures fluctuations.

CONCLUSION

That's what FFL advocates. Sadly too many are stuck in the rut and don't want to get out.

Either people chose that vision above or keep the same old system, as the SFF and NFFO advocate, and the managed decline to the last few it causes.

That's why FFL, and its founder especially, were demonized by a few in the industry post referendum by folk in thrawl to big interests.

Although if it hadn't been for founding FFL and driving it to the Thames flotilla and onwards fishing wouldn't be on the map, with the federations hiding behind neutrality.

Everyone see's the way it's going but are others brave enough to put their head above the parapet and say enough, change course.?

www.ffl.org.uk/0809-2/

TRANSITION WILL ERADICATE BRITISH FISHING INDUSTRY - says Fishing for Leave.

The majority of fishermen voted to leave the EU having been promised that this government would "Take back control".

Crusading website Fishing for Leave fires a huge salvo of questions across the bows of Her Majesty's Government today. In an attempt to get some kind of clarification that, this government, despite the promises and the rhetoric so often bandied about under the emotional headline, 'We will take back control' will not be selling out the fishing industry on the way out of the EU as previous Tory Prime Minister Ted Heath's government did when we joined the EU!

"Take back control" Another reminder what Fisheries Minister George Eustace said on national TV ahead after the referendum and ahead of exit negotiations.

So, summing up in FFls post today:

Existential Threat to the Fishing Industry

"If we fail to break free from the CFP the EU will be free to implement policy changes to our detriment. We doubt the EU27 would feel charitable to their political prisoner who has no representation but abundant fishing waters.

Continuation of the ill-conceived EU quota system and discard ban is the existential threat that could be used to finish what’s left of our Britain’s fishing fleet allowing the EU to claim the ‘surplus’ that Britain would no longer have the capacity to catch.

Rather than address the cause of discards – quotas, the EU has banned the symptoms – discards. Now when a vessel exhausts its lowest quota it must cease fishing. ‘Choke species’ will see vessels tied up early and, according to official government Seafish statistics, 60% of the fleet will go bankrupt.

If a sizeable portion of the UK fleet is lost international law under UNCLOS Article 62.2 which says; ‘Where a coastal State does not have the capacity to harvest the entire allowable catch, it shall… give other States access to the ‘surplus’.

Between the EU having the opportunity to claim “continuity of rights” even if proved wrong they could drag out Britain being trapped in the CFP and its quota system and discard ban for enough time to fishing our fleet off.

Once we have lost our industry there is no way back from this Catch 22– if we do not have the fleet we cannot catch the “surplus” and if we do not have the “surplus” we cannot maintain a fleet. With this we will also lose a generation and their skills which are irretrievable.

The UK political establishment of all hues would not be forgiven for betraying coastal communities a second time.

A transition destroys the opportunity of repatriating all Britain’s waters and resources worth between £6-8bn annually to national control. This would allow bespoke, environmentally fit-for-purpose UK policy that would benefit all fishermen to help rejuvenate our coastal communities.

As Minister Eustice promised we could rebalance the shares of resources where we, have the EU fleet catching 60% of the fish in our waters but receive only 25% of the Total Allowable Catches even though we have 50% of the waters.

This transition is the reverse of this and something exceptional that is within touching distance and what the public in constituencies across our land expect to see on this totemic and evocative issue.

The government and MPs must refuse the “transition” terms and discontinue the CFP entirely on 29th March 2019 or we will consign another British industry to museum and memory.

That Theresa May has known this all along means she, and her remain minded officials, are fully complicit in the embryonic stages of a second betrayal and sell out of Britain’s fishing industry.

NOTE

For too long people have bought the government rhetoric. The PM and Ministers have repeated;

“We will be leaving the Common Fisheries Policy on March 29, 2019”.

This spin has never been a commitment nor indication of a clean Brexit for fisheries. Those who kept citing these words have been either mendacious or naive to the reality of a Transition.

The government has known all along what the transition meant. The PM always continues, that;

“Leaving the CFP and leaving the CAP” wouldn’t give the opportunity until “post that implementation(transition) period – to actually introduce arrangements that work for the United Kingdom. The arrangement that pertains to fisheries during that implementation period will, of course, be part of the negotiations for that implementation period”.

We may officially “leave” the CFP on 29th March 2019 but we’ll re-obey entire EU Acquis as part of the “transition” period after Article 50 officially terminates the UKs membership – we will have left in name only."

Read the full post here written by Njordr AB