Survey on labour availability in the fishing UK fleet

Seafish are carrying out research on the labour needs of the UK fishing fleet to provide evidence for the shortage occupation list.

`Fishing crew working with nets on pier

Seafish are asking for information from fishing businesses about their experiences of recruiting crew. Our Economics team urgently need information from vessel owners, skippers and fishing company representatives about employment on their vessels.

They are seeking evidence related to current recruitment practice in the industry and are looking for businesses to share their recent experience recruiting crew.

They’ve set up a short online survey to gather information on this. You can access the survey from the link below:

Open the fishing labour survey

The survey will be open until Monday 20 March. As always we’ll follow our confidentiality rules and we won’t share individual responses with third parties.

They are carrying out this research into the labour needs of the UK fishing fleet on behalf of Defra. It will be used to help industry by providing evidence for the Migration Advisory Committee's call for evidence on the Shortage Occupation List.

Further information about the call for evidence is available from the link below:

Read about the Shortage Occupation List call for evidence on Gov.uk If you have any queries about the survey please contact economics@seafish.co.uk.

Fish of the Day - week 17 - the garfish

Or is it Gerrick?!

Garfish, not the most common species of fish landed on the market at Newlyn! Garfish are found in the top twenty metres of water and can be caught off harbour walls, rocks and boats. They are often found swimming in shoals of mackerel. 

They have a long thin eel like body with a beak (a bit like a swordfish).  Oddly, when you go to fillet one you will find that they have green bones under their bluey back and silver belly. They are a good eating fish but the bones remain green after cooking which is off-putting but harmless!

Very often, anglers fishing from the North Pier in Newlyn find they have a fighting garfish on the end of their line when fishing for mackerel!

Financial boost for young fishermen in Brittany.

Photo courtesy of Lionel Flageul/Le Marin

The Brittany Region is opening an online platform for submitting applications for installation aid for young fishermen to buy a second-hand boat intended for a Breton port. As part of the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (Feampa), fishermen aged 40 and under can file their application there and apply for aid of up to €75,000 for a first boat under 12 meters and €100,000 beyond. 

Fisheries are vital to the livelihoods and cultural heritage of many coastal communities in the European Union. The average age of many fishing communities is over 50 years old and it is estimated that in France around 5,000 sailors should retire between 2020 and 2030, even though the number of fishermen has already fallen by 8% between 2011 and 2016 at the national level. The renewal of generations remains a challenge, however, due to the low attractiveness of the profession and the very high cost of acquiring work tools, even though it is essential for the sustainability and competitiveness of the fishing in Brittany, the leading French region in terms of the number of ships, sailors and in terms of the landing of fishery products. Consequently, the Brittany Regional Council considers it a priority to provide young fishermen with support to facilitate their installation, by creating a fishing business.

This is the result of an issue of food sovereignty, in the post-Brexit context, while in France, 5,000 sailors should retire by 2030.

More and more young and female fishermen - it's not in the UK though.

 

The number of young fishermen is increasing, and it increases relatively most for women. For fishermen under the age of 20, the increase was over 9 per cent from 2021 to 2022.

The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries' statistics on fishermen show that it is attractive to enter the fishing industry, and this is a gratifying development, says Jon-Erik Henriksen, who is the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries' director of the management division.

He believes that when young people have their eyes on the fishing profession, it must be seen in the context of framework conditions for the fishing fleet that facilitate good jobs with competitive remuneration.

We also see that young people apply to the blue lines, where through good educational offers they can get a safe path into a future-oriented career alternative, says Henriksen.

Largest increase in young female fishermen

The number of female fishermen with fishing as their main occupation increased by 9 per cent from 2021 to 2022. At the end of 2022, 432 women with fishing as their main occupation were registered, while in 2021 there were 396 women with fishing as their main occupation.

It is among the youngest women that the increase is greatest. At the end of 2022, there were 138 registered female fishermen under the age of 30, while the corresponding figure at the turn of the previous year was 122, i.e. an increase of 13 per cent.

Recently, there has been a lot of focus on making better arrangements for women in the fishing industry, and that is also something the Directorate of Fisheries is concerned with. That is why it is particularly positive that there is an increase in the number of young female fishermen, says Henriksen.

More fishermen under the age of 40

Regardless of gender, the increase in the number of fishermen was greatest among the very youngest, those under 20, because in this youngest age group the increase was 9.4 per cent. In this age group, there were 309 fishermen in 2021 and 338 fishermen in 2022, who had fishing as their main occupation.

There was also a solid increase in the number of fishermen in the 30-39 age group. In this age group, there were 1748 fishermen in 2021 and 1836 fishermen in 2022, who had fishing as their main occupation, which corresponds to an increase of 5 per cent.

Statistics on fishermen in the number of fishermen

No sign of ageing of the fishing profession

The public often paints a picture of an industry characterised by obsolescence. Our statistics on fishermen show, on the contrary, that recruitment to the fishing profession is going in the right direction. As it appears, workplaces at sea are attractive to both the young and the elderly, which is a sign of health, says Henriksen.

He emphasises that we must continue the good work to recruit young people into the industry, while at the same time we must take care of those who are already there.

Misty March Monday morning in Newlyn

With temperature just above freezing there;'s a distinctly misty look to Monday morning in Newlyn...

but that doesn't in any way interfere with the the size and variety of landings on the market, plenty of MSC Ceertified hake from two bog netters, thre Ajax...

and the Stelissa...

also in their landings were a smattering of smoothhounds...

and even some scad...

while the inshore fleet filled the rest of the market with the usual large variety of species associated with the port of Newlyn...

monk tails...

turbot...

big white fish roe...

and of course plenty of quality flats like Dovers, lemons and plaice from the likes of the trawler, Guardian...

along. with every size and type of ray...

more monk...

and a few of these big ling with their distinctive 'goatee' or chin barbel...

the high market price that Dover soles attract means that every inshore trawlerman has a smile on their face when these drop out of the cod end in any quantity...

as do John Dory...

red mullet...

and monk tails...

so more Dovers means more smiles...

likewise, handliners forget the dark, early morning starts and the long hours spent trying to locate fish when these guys start coming aboard...

especially if mackerel are proving elusive....

these dyas the big crabbers are finding more and more Mediterranean octopus in their pots - though they are quite capable of devouring any lobsters that just happen to have found their way through the pot mouth - and in a short space of time too...

nevr without a smile on his face, Mr Smart, the face of auction organisation...

guess the fish...

there were plenty of pollack with the boats that target them...

a fine firm flesh that works well in fish pies or big fillets with simple white-based sauces, saffron being a favourite flavour (and colour) to add...

breakfast-seeking sea gull on take-off...

the lucky ones who find fish head to the market to land, the rest make their way back to a ppontoon berth...

the life of a netter, seemingly, never-ending nets...

tomorrow, is all about how not only young but female fisherman are bolstering the Norwegian fishing industry - in stark contrast to the UK and other nation states.

 

Happy St Pirans from the home of Cornish fish, Newlyn.

Brexit consequences - for some in the French industry

Two recent stories from. the French media covering the degree how much French and largely Breton fishing may be hit in the wake of Brexit.

Stories courtesy of Le Telegramme.

In Lorient, the post-Brexit scrapping plan would release four Scapêche boats

What are the consequences for the fishing port of Lorient of the fleet exit plan, which threatens to scrap seven Scapêche boats? Yves Foëzon, director of the producers' organization Pêcheurs de Bretagne, answers.

Where are we today with the Individual Support Plan (PAI), the fleet exit plan opened by the State, which is to send 45 Breton fishing boats to the scrapyard, including four from Lorient?

The Jean-Claude Coulon, a 45-meter trawler built in 2005, risks ending up scrapped, as part of the Individual Support Plan (PAI), opened by the State, as part of Brexit. (The Telegram/Sophie Paitier)

The state has put €65m on the table for this Brexit-related fleet exit plan . Brexit has caused tensions over certain quotas or problems of access to areas of the Celtic Sea. The shipping lines that have applied to bring out their boats have received their agreements from the State. They must now say whether or not they confirm their positions to destroy their ships or not. There will be a second round.

Post-Brexit fishing: half of the boats destroyed in the fleet exit plan are Breton 

We know that the Scapêche armament is concerned. Are we talking about four Lorient boats, including a 45 meter, the Jean-Claude Coulon and several others based in the Bigouden country and in northern Finistère? Some Scapêche boats are in the first round. But we don't know if Scapêche has confirmed all of its ships or not. La Scapêche candidate for seven in total. Presumably, there will be four trawlers for the port of Lorient and seven ships in all. The administration does not yet communicate the official list of vessels retained. We are waiting for this list. It is possible that the shipowners who had applied in the first round do not confirm and free up space. The list will be supplemented by the following vessels, those with a sufficient Brexit dependency rate to enter the €65 million envelope released by the State.

What impact will this have for the port of Lorient?

In the current context of diesel and energy crises, given the fragile balances, any drop in supply is detrimental.

Does this represent significant fewer contributions for the Lorient fish auction?

This represents in value between 10 and 11 M € and 3,500 tonnes of fish landed. It calls into question the overall balance, for production, for the first buyers, for suppliers, for service providers, for the port. The whole industry will be impacted. There will be a bottom of the wave in the coming months. This summer there will be an actual destruction of ships. The boats will gradually stop but we will be able to measure the impact, as names are given and from this summer when the boats are actually destroyed.

What is the impact for Scapêche?

For regulatory and legal reasons, Scapêche is one of the shipping companies that does not receive diesel aid. They are capped at €330,000 for all of their vessels. It's nothing. However, diesel has a direct impact on the remuneration of crews. The Scapêche armament and others in the Bigouden country find themselves in a very delicate situation. Compared to other armaments, they have a distortion of competition. To be able to maintain the recruitment of sailors, they are obliged to compensate for the absence of helpers. There is a fairness issue.

And for the producer organization Pêcheurs de Bretagne?

We manage 650 ships in Brittany and Loire-Atlantique. Potentially, we have 45 ships that can go out with the PAI. These are boats that have significant contributions. In high hypothesis, we estimate that we would lose 15% of the turnover made by our members. Even if no one can assess the economic impact to date. The context is not favourable. We will have to maintain economic profitability for the remaining ships. If the context does not improve, it will be complicated. But the collective and pooled management of a producers' organization makes it possible to cushion this type of shock. It is she who will give prospects to the ships that will remain.

Post-Brexit fishing: half of the boats destroyed in the fleet exit plan are Breton

Forty-five Breton ships will be destroyed as part of the fleet exit plan, or half of the boats selected nationally. The hard blow is confirmed for Breton fishing. The fleet exit plan, a consequence of restricted access to British waters after Brexit, is taking shape more precisely with the announcement, this Friday, of the number of boats that will be scrapped. As we announced on January 26 , 90 ships are affected nationwide and 34 others are on a waiting list. 164 applications had been filed.

Brittany is the most impacted region of France since of the 64 Breton files submitted, 45 were retained, which represents 4% of the regional fleet and half of the ships destroyed in France as part of this individual support plan. (PAI). Eight boats are on the waiting list. Bigouden trawlers alone account for 26 scrapped vessels .

Dismantling of ships in France

For Hervé Berville, Secretary of State for the Sea, “the plan will improve economic and financial situations. Everything has been done to preserve the local economy and provide the means to develop fishing in France”. “I wanted to have a different logic for dealing with the ships, the shipowners directly impacted by Brexit, in order to respond to the difficulties of the sector for years and not simply by a fleet exit plan. It is for this reason that there are no age criteria on the ships. These are criteria solely related to stocks and dependence on UK waters,” he said.

In a document sent this Friday, the Secretary of State for the Sea specifies that "77% of the shipping companies selected have accepted the PAI, 14% are still in reflection and 8% have withdrawn". The shipowners selected now have three months to dismantle the boats, after which they will be able to receive the aid. “The dismantling phase of the ships must be done on French shipyards like Brest, Boulogne-sur-Mer or Bordeaux and not in foreign countries. It is an issue of good use of public money, ”insisted Hervé Berville.

The conditions for access to compensation - for example the justification of a dependency of at least 20% of the total value of sales of its catches made in British waters in 2019 or 2020 - were set by the government in October . The overall envelope is 65 million euros, financed by the European Commission. The amount of aid is calculated for each ship according to its power.

Before the Senate, at the beginning of February, Hervé Berville reaffirmed that the implementation of this PAI had been dictated by three principles: "helping fishermen", "maintaining fishing capacity" in France and "not destabilizing" the the entire sector, from fishermen to port industries dependent on this activity.