The “Sea of Opportunity” that was offered to UK fishermen, under banner of the poster boys for Brexit, has long faded away and instead the optimism that was there has dissipated. Instead the poster boys are facing displacement from their traditional fishing grounds by the same politicians who used them and have been cast as enemies of the environment as marine protected areas and offshore wind developments are the new vogue.
“That sort of legacy from Brexit that you know we should be in a better position than we are. We’re still trying to shake that off. We were the poster boys during those Brexit discussions, and here we are, three years after it, almost to the day, and pretty much other than the ideological political aspiration of saying we’re a coastal state. In terms of the amount of fish we get to catch, in terms of shares, we are no better off. So that’s still a negative in there that will take to shake off,” Mike tells Oliver.
Where there may be negatives for 2022, Mike does see some positives for 2023 in things like the cooperation between fisheries science and the fishing industry itself. He says:
“We still don’t have a deal with the Faroes, and because of the reduction in anglerfish, our vessels are desperately needing onto Faroe grounds this year. So, we still need to get the Faroe deal over the line.”
One of the negatives that was left over from 2022 was the fact that Scottish boats did not catch their full quotas on some stocks, not because they couldn’t catch the fish, but because there wasn’t the processing available onshore.
On the positive side, there was an increase in quota for several stocks with cod increasing 63% in the recommended catch limit. Other important whitefish stocks like saithe and haddock also saw increases.
Mike also discusses issues concerning fisheries science, transit migrant workers visa, the spatial squeeze and the pressure being put on the industry to stop using fossil fuels, but are there any viable alternatives? Mike says it’s not up to the industry itself to make that change as it lies in the j=hands of the engine manufacturers.
“That sort of legacy from Brexit that you know we should be in a better position than we are. We’re still trying to shake that off. We were the poster boys during those Brexit discussions, and here we are, three years after it, almost to the day, and pretty much other than the ideological political aspiration of saying we’re a coastal state. In terms of the amount of fish we get to catch, in terms of shares, we are no better off. So that’s still a negative in there that will take to shake off,” Mike tells Oliver.
Where there may be negatives for 2022, Mike does see some positives for 2023 in things like the cooperation between fisheries science and the fishing industry itself. He says:
“We still don’t have a deal with the Faroes, and because of the reduction in anglerfish, our vessels are desperately needing onto Faroe grounds this year. So, we still need to get the Faroe deal over the line.”
One of the negatives that was left over from 2022 was the fact that Scottish boats did not catch their full quotas on some stocks, not because they couldn’t catch the fish, but because there wasn’t the processing available onshore.
On the positive side, there was an increase in quota for several stocks with cod increasing 63% in the recommended catch limit. Other important whitefish stocks like saithe and haddock also saw increases.
Mike also discusses issues concerning fisheries science, transit migrant workers visa, the spatial squeeze and the pressure being put on the industry to stop using fossil fuels, but are there any viable alternatives? Mike says it’s not up to the industry itself to make that change as it lies in the j=hands of the engine manufacturers.