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The Fishing News Awards 2021
Fishing News is proud to present the Fishing News Awards 2021, which shines a spotlight on the achievements, innovations, and successes of the commercial fishing industries of the UK and Ireland in 2020.
Since last March, everyone associated with the fishing industry has faced many challenges in trying to keep their family-based businesses afloat. Major those these were, they fade into insignificance when compared to the tragic loss of loved ones that many have suffered over the past year and our sincere condolences go out to everyone who has lost family members and friends.
Some welcome signs of recovery within the industry are now appearing, including the proposed reopening of restaurants which should have a positive impact on fish prices. Conscious of the importance of giving the industry some respite from continuing challenges, and wanting to celebrate the many and varied achievements of fishermen throughout the UK and Ireland, Fishing News is proud to launch the 2021 awards. Continuing with 2020’s format, Fishing News Awards 2021 will be virtual event, taking place at 7pm on 17 June 2021.
On that date, simply make your way back here for our announcement video or connect with us on Twitter or Facebook on the day to find out the winners – and don’t forget to dress up! Just because we’re virtual this year that doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate the winners with style.
The Fishing News Awards recognises the collective achievement of the industry, the strength of which is much greater than its individual parts, so it’s important that the efforts of fishermen, boat builders, port staff, processors, seafood retailers, product manufacturers and service companies are all celebrated.
Nominations for Fishing News Awards 2021 are now open, click here to register your nomination. This year’s 16 categories for Fishing News Awards 2021 can be found below and we’re delighted to bring voters two new categories: U10 Fisherman of The Year recognising the achievements of those working on under 10 metre boats and Product of the Year to recognise innovative and exciting new products being used in the industry.
Use the menu below to see each category in the Fishing News Awards 2021
Nomination entries close on 26 March so make sure you put in your nomination now. To keep up to date with the awards, don’t forget to look out for more information in Fishing News and on our Twitter and Facebook pages.
Fisheries Innovation Scotland (FIS) today announced two new projects, following invitations for pioneering research issued in late 2020. FIS, which brings together seafood experts, scientists and Scottish Government to champion practical innovation in fishing, sought new ideas to explore digitalisation of the Scottish fleet and understand greenhouse gas emissions from fishing vessels. Both projects offer opportunities for FIS to help the sector build business reputation, resilience and new routes to market
Kara Brydson, Executive Director of FIS said: “These projects are designed and led by our industry, bringing heads together to create sustainable business opportunities in the new political and market contexts we’re facing together.”
Responding to the need to combat greenhouse gas emissions across all industries, FIS will partner with consultancy MarFishEco (MFE) and Heriot-Watt University to explore specific emission issues from each fleet segment within Scottish fishing. FIS hopes this piece of research will be an important contribution by the Scottish fishing industry, especially as the Glasgow-hosted 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) edges closer.
Experts from MFE and Heriot-Watt University will look to inform the development of a practical tool to measure and validate changes in carbon use at an individual vessel level and inform national action to reduce fleet emissions, including identifying technological solutions, costs and pathways to transition.
“MFE are excited to be selected to undertake this work as such emissions baselines are becoming increasingly important in terms of nationally determined contributions to reduce carbon emissions,” said Andrew Johnson, MarFishEco Chief Executive.
“Scotland has a large biomass of fish landed at its ports making it an obvious place to begin such work and understand what the picture looks like. It will then be equally important to engage with policy and industry to find practicable solutions to mitigating carbon emissions as best possible without detrimental impact on the economic viability of different fisheries. We hope this work will provide an important baseline upon which to build so that Scotland can be ahead of the curve and place itself as a world leader both in terms of high-quality seafood but also in terms of industry initiatives to help curb the negative impacts of industrial activities.”
With technology playing an increasingly critical role in many crucial aspects of Scottish fisheries, through in-water gear selectivity, real-time reporting apps, and more, FIS recognised the need to accelerate its understanding of how to provide business and research intelligence to fishers, scientists and managers.
FIS will work with Verifact, a company that provides software and advisory services to the seafood sector, to audit the Scottish fishing fleet’s current and future digital capabilities, and look for opportunities learned within other sectors in order to support FIS in identifying practical, innovative projects. Frank Fleming, CEO of Verifact said: “We are looking forward to working with FIS to identify how emerging technologies can play a key role in adding value to the Scottish seafood sector. The project will explore how digitalisation can add value to catches and build efficiencies in supply chains while contributing to scientific data collection and sustainable practices.
“FIS are forward-thinking by looking at this project. Other food sectors are also investing in this area and it is important that the Scottish seafood sector maps out what it can do in the short and medium-term to inform its decision making in the coming years.”
Over the next five weeks, both organisations will be working on their respective projects, with support from FIS, its members and other experts. Once the initial desk-based research is complete, FIS members will decide on the next steps for practical innovation projects. More information about the project teams will be released on social media channels over the next month.
Right now the largest fishing vessel in the world is trawling up and down the length of the 12 mile limit off countries like Senegal...
right on the edge of the 12 mile limit...
but she is not alone, there are over 50 such vessels doing exactly the same - hard to imagine how long inshore fisheries will be able to sustain the local fishermen of those countries who rely on healthy stocks supporting the food chain. The law of 'unintended consequences' then kicks in and impacts on the already fragile economic fortunes of those already struggling fishing communities.
“Closed” rather than co-management characterises the government’s first post-Brexit steps to defining its approach to fisheries management after the Common Fisheries Policy. Dale Rodmell examines the current proposals for this iconic site and what it signals for stakeholder participation in fisheries.
DOGGER BANK. CREDIT: JNCC
Becoming an independent coastal state, the one consolation prize for fisheries from the dire outcomes of Brexit, carried with it the idea that fishing communities be brought more successfully into the orbit of a co-managed approach to fisheries. Gone would be the days of faceless Commission bureaucrats making decisions, without any dialogue, over matters they only half understood, while generating a host of unintended consequences in their wake. Now with these powers repatriated, rather than the UK government working through the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has gained responsibility for managing fisheries for conservation purposes, including within MPAs, through its newly acquired byelaw making powers under the Fisheries Act.
But just two months in, instead of laying the groundwork for delivering co-management, it has replaced a UK government-backed proposal under the CFP to close to most bottom towed fishing gears around a third of the Dogger Bank, a large shallow sandbank in the central North Sea, with a complete ban on such gears. The proposal it replaced had received stakeholder input into its design. The MMO's has had none. Rather than moving forward to bring resource users closer to decision-making, the punishing reversal and the remote-control way it arrived at it, harks back to the playbook of the Commission's most tin-eared past.
It is also a reversal for risk-based decision-making based on best available evidence. A read through the MMO's consultation documents reveals that a hard-line language of precaution has replaced one of balance and managed risk. Under this approach, the nuances of the effects of towed gears on the most dynamic and resilient marine habitats in the North Sea count for zero. Validating what effects fishing really has through a monitoring programme that compares areas fished from those that are not - nowhere to be seen. The unintended consequences of displacing all this activity elsewhere in the North Sea and beyond is reserved to little more than a footnote ending with a question mark.
All of this comes as construction starts on four of the largest offshore wind farms in the same area about to be cleared of fishing, and Greenpeace, following its illegal and dangerous boulder dumping vigilantism on the Dogger Bank last year, starts a new campaign in the Channel. Fired up by its unsanctioned actions – it received not even the equivalent of a fixed administrative penalty (FAP) from the MMO (fishermen can expect much more for much less), Greenpeace's bravado that “it works" (1) is hard to refute.
So as fishing communities pick themselves back up from this hammer blow, how did it come to this?
From Co-designers to the Outcasts of Management
Planning fisheries measures for the Dogger Bank started off with high ambitions for a co-managed approach. Despite, or perhaps because it was a complex site to administer, spanning UK, Dutch and German waters, it was the first of any size containing sedimentary habitats to be progressed through the machinery of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The North Sea Regional Advisory Council (now NSAC), a product of the 2002 reform of the CFP aimed at fixing the broken relationship between the Commission and those that it managed, was charged in 2011 with coming up with a management proposal. Although significant progress was made between industry and NGO members of the NSRAC to produce a consensus proposal based on zoning areas where gear restrictions would be applied, without the guiding hand of official scientific input and without the actual decision-makers being in the room this proved not possible (2). Last year, the NSAC reviewed its experience with the process and made a series of recommendations to improve how stakeholder participation may be best married with science-based decision-making (3).
DOGGER BANK JOINT RECOMMENDATION. GREEN = MANAGEMENT ZONES
Although the NSAC industry, nor NGO representatives, were to have any further hand in the design of management measures, these proposals were used as the starting point for informing a joint recommendation between the UK, Dutch and German governments to close around a third of the adjoining SACs to bottom towed gears, which incorporated around a half in German waters. There were disagreements over precluding seine nets from the management restrictions with the UK and Netherlands arguing that they did not need to be included versus Germany which thought they did; Germany, therefore, precluded seines in the management zones whilst the UK and the Netherlands did not. Following the submission of the Joint Recommendation to the Commission in 2019, a review by STECF (4) the Commission's scientific advisory body, also highlighted seines as an issue, that further attention is paid to fishing effort displacement and control and that coordinated monitoring programme be implemented so that after a 6-year review period the appropriate location and size of management areas may be revaluated. Notwithstanding this, it considered “the final proposal represents a trade-off between protection of the sandbanks and socio-economic interests, in line with Article 2 of the Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC."
While all of this was progressing, in 2013 Defra began to introduce what it termed “the revised approach" to managing fishing in MPAs in English waters starting in response to a challenge that it was not doing enough to proactively manage fisheries within existing MPAs. This identified high-risk features for which management measures should be prioritised such as reef features and seagrass beds, whilst sedimentary habitats would be subject to more detailed assessments. Habitats subject to high levels of natural disturbance such as sediments in shallow water “where natural disturbance may be significant relative to anthropogenic impacts" were singled out where an adaptive management approach as an alternative to blanket prohibitions “may be considered disproportionate and unnecessary to meet the requirements under Article 6(2) of the Habitats Directive to take appropriate measures to prevent deterioration to the site." This approach was regarded as consistent with the “draft proposals for the management of the Dogger Bank SCI" (5). Subsequently, only last year the MMO together with the government's conservation advisors completed a project that developed and tested a participatory process using an adaptive management framework for making management decisions (6).
History Forgotten
All of this has been instantly forgotten like a dream in the post-Brexit new dawn. It has happened when there has been no fundamental change to the evidence base on the effects of fishing. If anything, where the MMO has undertaken additional work to quantify the fishing footprint on the Dogger Bank, it has demonstrated that it is smaller than might have been expected from a visual inspection of fishing track data. Nor has there been a fundamental change in the legal framework which governs MPAs that owe their origin to the Habitats Directive; this is all retained EU law. Nor can the government reasonably claim (as it has done (7)) that agreement from EU Member States made it difficult to introduce measures under the CFP; Germany had taken a harder stance than it had done. In the wake of the EU referendum, except for the Dogger Bank, it had also held off pressing forward with draft plans for a host of other offshore sites, all of which had been through a process of stakeholder engagement (8).
This matters not only for the Dogger Bank and the precedent it signals for the rest of the MPA network, with the potential for mass displacement of fishing activities risking negative environmental impacts and chaos and conflict as fleets come into conflict with one another for years to come, but also because it undermines the vital signs of good fisheries governance – trust and cooperation. After all, what is the purpose of fishing communities working with fisheries managers when after a decade of cooperation on generating a common understanding of the evidence and basis for management, at the 11th hour it is to be swept over the side by the illegal activities of Greenpeace and threats of legal action?
In a timely reminder of the potential sustainability benefits of co-managed approaches (9), Paul Hart, Emeritus Professor at the University of Leicester draws on several characterises of human behaviour from the fields of experimental and observational behavioural economics that may underpin successful management outcomes, including that:
- Those involved in designing systems for fisheries management and who have frequent interactions between members of a group involved in such an endeavour are more inclined to have a sense of ownership over it and ensure its maintenance.
- Those involved in contributing towards the management process (and evidence associated with its maintenance such as stock evaluation) are contributing to a public good that in turn legitimises their right to fish from which they exercise a greater interest in maintaining a suitable system of sanctions against free riders who undermine the system.
As Hart points out, giving more responsibility to the industry entails changes to the functions of management institutions where institutional path dependency to preserve status and power means that when changes do occur, they are often just incremental. It took a serious breakdown in the system of fisheries governance in the 1990s for the Commission to take a hard look at what was wrong, and even then, did not introduce reforms that gave industry any actual direct power over its own management; the work of the Advisory Councils is just that, advisory.
The Marine Management Organisation, a decade-old institution, is a relative newcomer to fisheries management and one that has only just been given expanded responsibilities. Notwithstanding the playing out of higher politics, this perhaps goes some way to explaining why in the face of the political signals of a green Brexit and coaxed by Greenpeace's dangerous antics, it has so easily swung into a lowest common denominator remote control mode of management. A longer-term view, both backwards and forwards is desperately needed if post-Brexit fisheries governance is not going to head down the same cul-de-sacs of its CFP predecessor. Fishers who are to be expelled from customary fishing grounds deserve a better and a more just response than this, as does the sustainable management of our seas.
4. Review of Joint Recommendations for Natura 2000 sites at Dogger Bank, Cleaver Bank, Frisian Front and Central Oyster grounds (STECF-19-04). Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2019, ISBN 978-92-76-11227-3, doi:10.2760/422631, JRC117963 https://stecf.jrc.ec.europa.eu/reports/env-impacts...
8. These include North East of Farne Deeps MCZ, Swallow Sands MCZ, Inner Dowsing Race Bank and North Ridge SAC, North Norfolk Sand Banks SAC, Haisborough Hammond and Winterton SAC, Canyons MCZ, South West Deeps (West) MCZ, Greater Haig Fras MCZ, East of Haig Fras MCZ, Offshore Brighton MCZ, Offshore Overfalls MCZ, Bassurelle Sandbank SAC, South Dorset MCZ, Croker Carbonate Slabs SAC, Pisces Reef Complex SAC.
Are we any the wiser - read, or listen to the detail, the devil is everywhere.
At the most recent event we heard from government and fishing authorities on what The Fisheries Act 2020 and the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) mean for the UK’s fishing industry. The event explored the practical details and likely changes to be brought about by these landmark shifts.
The panel consisted of Rt Hon George Eustice MP, Secretary of State (SoS) for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Anne Freeman, Deputy Director of Domestic fisheries and Reform at Defra. The meeting was chaired by Sheryll Murray MP.
A full recording of the online event can be found here:
Following the speakers’ presentations, pre-submitted questions from Parliamentarians and attendees were put to the panel. Written summaries of these questions and the given answers are provided below. Please note that these answers reflect the views of the panelists rather than the APPG Secretariat or its Members.
ACCESS
The inshore fleet has expressed disappointment at the failure to secure exclusive access to the 6-12-mile zone. Given that future amendments to the agreement after the adjustment period are likely to result in social or economic penalties to the UK, will there be the possibility of excluding EU vessels from the 6-12 mile zone without significant repercussions for the UK?
The SoS said that the short answer is yes, and that changes will be made following the end of the adjustment period in just over 5 years’ time. He understood the inshore fleet’s disappointment, sympathising that the 6-12 mile zone should be predominantly for UK fishermen. The SoS said that following this 5-year period, the government would continue to push for control of our waters, even if this means accepting the possible scenario of EU export tariffs (since the tariffs are more modest on fish than on other sectors).
The SoS continued by addressing current actions, stating that more technical conservation measures are currently under review, enabling more control over vessels wishing to enter the 6-12 mile zone.
As laid out in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, it seems that as long as Total Allowable Catch is set for a stock, then access to that area for EU vessels will follow, even after the adjustment period ends in mid-2026. With this in mind, how can the UK increase its quota share, besides through international swaps?
The SoS first stated that international swaps are to be used in the interim adjustment period. During this period, and in the absence of an agreement of the Total Allowable Catch for a stock, ICES advice becomes the basis for allocation.
Beyond this 5-year period, the SoS noted, there will be nothing to prevent the UK from changing access. Once these access agreements have been changed, he said, it becomes evident who has the fish in their waters, and those who seek access in said waters will have to accept certain concessions.
Will fishing authorities be enforcing the 12-mile rule, which states that UK-registered vessels with crew under transit visas cannot fish within 12 miles of shore, to aid the inshore fleet? There are reports that the Border Force is not adequately enforcing the rules.
Anne Freeman said that this is a matter for the Border Force and she could not comment. She said that fisheries authorities around the UK do cooperate on this matter.
There is increasing scientific evidence and NGO pressure in favour of no-take zones such as Highly Protected Marine Areas (HMPAs), but the fishing industry are also facing large area exclusions due to the construction of offshore renewables. What is the best way to deal with the cumulative effects of these two different types of exclusions post-Brexit?
Anne Freeman stated that her answers are in relation to England only. She appreciated the spatial challenges facing all marine users and followed on to say that more needs to be done to improve the marine environment. One way to do this is through cooperation to galvanise evidence-based action through clear communication and involvement of all interested parties. She said there is indeed appetite in Defra to do this, particularly regarding offshore wind. Anne noted that HMPAs and MPAs can have beneficial impacts on fish stocks and can therefore help the catch sector.
QUOTA
Given that it was repeatedly stated that fishing access would not be linked to a wider trade deal, why did the UK government sacrifice this ‘red line’, leading to widespread disappointment among fishing communities?
The Secretary of State (SoS) maintained that it had been initially hoped that the issues of fishing access and the wider trade deal could be dealt with separately. However, the SoS said the Prime Minister did not want to walk away with no deal, and instead chose to reach a compromise. The SoS continued to emphasise the significant uplift in quota, albeit it not as much as had been hoped.
Has an estimate been made of the net benefits of Brexit quota increases when factors such as paper fish, loss of the Hague Preference, loss of opportunities for e.g. Greenland’s waters, loss of markets and cost of health certificates and other non-tariff barriers are taken into account?
Anne Freeman responded to say that BEIS (Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) ministers have confirmed that these estimates have not been made, but that impact assessments on any secondary legislation under the new Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) would be made in due course, in the usual way.
Is the government considering the reinstatement of the 1988 Merchant Shipping Act, to ensure that UK quota is owned by vessels that land in the UK, rather than just carrying the UK flag?
After recognising the importance of this issue to many in the sector, Anne Freeman noted that Defra fully intends for more fish to be landed in the UK. The government does not believe it is necessary to reinstate the Merchant Shipping Act. For England, the UK Government is looking to strengthen the licence conditions for English registered and licensed vessels to prove a stronger economic link to the UK. A consultation had been undertaken late last year, with the response to be published shortly. There was a delicate balance, she added, as the government does not want to discourage foreign investment in the UK, or destabilise the fishing industry at this critical stage.
Anne Freeman additionally pointed out that the allocation of existing quota will remain the same, with consultations underway on how the additional quota will be distributed. No property rights will accrue from additional quota.
Can the under-10m sector be assured that any new fishing quota as a result of Brexit is not simply allocated to larger vessels (as it was within the Fixed Quota Allocation system), but is rather used to support the under-10m fleet?
The SoS said that any new quota - additional to what was allocated through Relative Stability - will be distributed in a new way. He said the government intends to make this additional quota available to the inshore pool, alongside ensuring quota is allocated according to what is actually fished.
The SoS also went on to mention the toughened economic link conditions, reporting that consultation on this has recently concluded and that vessels fishing in UK waters (including foreign-owned vessels) will, in future, need to land at least 70% of their quota in the UK, or forfeit this quota for redistribution (potentially to the inshore fleet).
Will the newly allocated UK quota for bluefin tuna be accessible to all vessels in relevant sea areas? Currently, the lack of quota means that this species and others in the same area are unable to be targeted, despite there being a strong market.
Anne Freeman first acknowledged the huge interest in this issue, from commercial, recreational and scientific standpoints. Anne then went on to emphasise tuna’s vulnerability from a conservation perspective, noting that although the UK has secured a small quota for Eastern Atlantic Bluefin Tuna under the TCA (still being formalised between EU, UK and ICCAT), care must be taken over next steps.
TRADE AND EXPORTS
It is understood that the UK Government has offered a six-month period of grace to EU seafood imports to deal with new paperwork and so on. Why was this grace period not reciprocated for UK exporters?
Anne Freeman said this is a matter for the EU, rather than the UK. She pointed out that the UK decided to phase in border controls on EU seafood imports, to give businesses time to adjust.
Will the Government work with the EU to streamline the shipping of live shellfish so that it can reach the market within one to two days, as it has done in the past?
The SoS confirmed the UK is ready for this discussion. He highlighted the difficulty of the EU’s political stance and acknowledged that adjusting to EU export requirements (particularly paperwork) has been a learning curve for businesses and border officials alike.
Continuing, the SoS noted the possibility of a future discussion with the EU about a veterinary partnership agreement. Such an agreement would reflect the fact there is no public health or animal health risk from shellfish leaving the UK. Finally, the SoS added that the EU’s export process, particularly with regard to certification requirements, is relatively outdated, and could be better refined in this digital age.
INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
What measures is the Government taking to ensure a viable future for the UK’s distant waters fishing fleet?
Anne Freeman confirmed framework agreements had been signed with Norway and the Faroe Islands which stipulated annual bilateral negotiations for access to fishing opportunities. She said two UK vessels are currently fishing off Svalbard. As for other opportunities, Anne stated that these will be dependent on the outcome of ongoing negotiations.
How might we maximise the opportunities for international partnership working opened up by the Fisheries Act and Brexit, and to what extent will we be able to work internationally with the EU to ensure a common worldwide approach to sustainable fishing?
The SoS underlined the UK’s renewed sovereignty and that the UK will continue to work constructively with other key countries. He said that leaving the EU gives the UK the ability to rejoin, and better speak its own mind at, Regional Fisheries Management Organisations around the world. He went on to say that the UK now represents itself (for example, in negotiations with the Faroes) which was not previously the case. The SoS said that we have already joined NAFO (Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation) and NEAFC (North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission), and will rejoin ICCAT (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) as ‘ourselves’.
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
When will the fishing industry be able to access the £100 million fund promised by the government?
Anne Freeman said that the short answer is soon. She said that Defra is working through the details, but that the funding will be available in the next financial year. She added that the Prime Minister is committed to providing this investment to rejuvenate the UK’s coastal communities.
