Fishing industry in Scotland
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The fishing industry in Scotland comprises a significant proportion of the
Many of these are
Fishing areas
The main fishing areas are the North Sea and the seas west of Scotland.
Historical development
In the early 19th century, the British Government began to subsidise the catches of herring boats larger than 60 tons, plus an additional bounty on all herring sold abroad. This, coupled with the coming of the
At the peak of the Herring Boom in 1907, 2,500,000 barrels of fish (227,000
Before the 1880s, long-lining was the usual method used to catch white fish such as cod, halibut, saithe, ling and flat fish which live at the bottom of the sea. It was very labour-intensive but resulted in a high-quality catch. Small line fishing was a family affair with women and children responsible for preparing the equipment. This was a line, up to a mile in length, to which were attached snoods or shorter pieces of line which were baited with fish or shellfish. Great line fishing was similar to small line fishing but was undertaken in deeper waters, further out to sea. The lines could be up to 15 miles (24 km) in length and would be fitted with 5,000 hooks. The fishermen usually baited the lines on the boat. Because of the work involved in preparing and hauling the lines, new methods of catching white fish were sought. Trawling was introduced into Scotland from England in the late 19th century and, from the 1920s, seine-netting was introduced from Denmark.[2]
The
The fishing industry in Scotland continued to decline up to the
History of national waters
The concept of "freedom of the seas" has endured since the seventeenth century, when the Dutch merchant and politician,
Gadoid outburst and Common Fisheries Policy
Fisheries are mentioned briefly in the Treaty of Rome.
"The Common Market shall extend to agriculture and trade in agricultural products. ‘Agricultural products’ means the products of the soil, of stockfarming and of fisheries and products of first stage processing directly related to these products."
Fisheries policy was seen, therefore, as an extension of the arrangements for agriculture, and the European Commission interpreted this as requiring a common policy dealing with fisheries. In 1968 the first proposals were put to the Council of Ministers for a Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Implementation of the CFP was delayed by the difficulty in member states reaching agreement on the provisions of the legislation required. An agreement on the two regulations which make up the CFP was eventually reached on the night of 30 June 1970 - the day that negotiations were due to start for the accession of the UK, Ireland, Denmark and Norway. The six existing members were keen that a CFP should be in place before negotiations began and should therefore become part of the acquis communautaire, which new members would have to accept as settled policy.[1]
The late 1960s and early 1970s were characterised by a sudden and unexplained increase in the abundance of a number of
Britain's negotiating position was complicated by the conflicting interest of the inshore and distant water fishermen. The Scottish fleet had a strong interest in seeing the exclusive 12 mile (22.2 km) limit retained; but the UK Government was also pressed by the distant water fleet, mainly, but not solely based on the east coast of England, which wanted to continue fishing off Iceland, Norway and the
In January 1977, at the behest of the EEC, the UK and other member states extended their
The outcome of the negotiations was considered by fishermen's representative bodies at the time to be a success. The extension of the 12-mile (19 km) limit to the whole coastline (including
Current status
Updated statistics from the UK's Marine Management Organisation on the UK fishing sector show that UK vessels landed 724 thousand tonnes of sea fish in 2017, with a value of £980 million. Scottish vessels accounted for 64 per cent of the quantity of landings by the UK fleet while English vessels accounted for 28 per cent. [6] The current status of the fishing industry in Scotland is best considered on a sector-by-sector basis, as each faces different problems and opportunities.
Demersal fleet
The Scottish demersal fleet has been facing economically difficult times for several years due to the decline of cod and haddock in the North Sea, which were the mainstay of catches. The fleet has declined from around 800 vessels in 1992 to just over 400 in 2004. This sector catches a diverse range of species and, although cod and haddock are important components, together accounting for 40% of the total landings, in absolute value they represent only a modest turnover of £55m.[1] Commercial performance of the sector has been dominated by the difficulties over cod, particularly in recent years with the implementation of the European "Cod Recovery Plan", but have also been affected by a scarcity of haddock and other demersal species. In recent years much of the demersal industry has been supported by the abundant 1999 year-class of haddock.[7]
Nephrops fleet
Pelagic sector
The commercial performance of this sector suffered a near terminal setback during the 1970s, when the herring fisheries in the North Sea and west of Scotland collapsed and had to be closed. As stocks recovered and as it became possible to separate the catching of herring and mackerel, the sector recovered. It became apparent that the domestic market for herring had disappeared, and mackerel became the dominant source of earnings. These trends encouraged a number of enterprising fishermen to set about investing in the modernisation of the fleet through the commissioning of new, state-of-the-art vessels. The pelagic fleet is now highly centralised, based in Shetland and north east Scotland, with a fleet of 27 vessels generating gross earnings of £98M.[1] The general view is that substantial profit and excellent returns on investment are being achieved by this sector. 2006 raids by the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency (SFPA) on a number of fish processors revealed large-scale misreporting of landings by pelagic vessels.[11] This led to the Scottish component of pelagic quotas being reduced for several years to "repay" this over-exploitation.
Fish processing industry
The Scottish
Associated organisations
The fishing industry in Scotland is supported by a number of governmental and non-governmental organisations.
Fisheries research in Scotland
Fisheries research in Scotland dates back to the foundation of the
Non-governmental fisheries research is carried out at a number of
Industry organisations
There are numerous organisations representing different sectors of the industry, including the Scottish Fishermen's Federation (SFF), which was formed in 1973 from eight constituent local fishermen's organisations. The SFF lobbies for the interests of Scottish fishermen at national and international levels in Edinburgh, London and Brussels. The Federation also plays a role in fisheries science by coordinating industry cooperation with scientific partners. The different industrial sectors each have representative organisations, such as the Scottish Whitefish Producers Organisation or the Scottish Seafood Processors Federation.
In 2017 the Communities Inshore Fisheries Alliance was established to respond to common needs throughout the mobile, static, diving and landline fisheries and onshore fishing businesses in Scotland, currently its members include the Clyde Fishermen's Association, Western Isles Fishermen's Association, West Coast Scallop Association, Dunbar Fishermen's Association, Orkney Fishermen's Association, Galloway Static Gear Association and a range of fishing businesses and scientists representatives such as SAMS.
The SCFF is an organisation representing static creel, hand-line and dive fishing. (around 85 per cent of the Scottish inshore fleet are thought to be creel boats).[13]
The promotion of fish and fish products along with economic analysis of fisheries is carried out by Sea Fish Industry Authority (Seafish) – a non-departmental public body funded by a levy on fish sales – and their Scottish partner organisation, Seafood Scotland.
Regulation and enforcement
Whilst the international aspect of European fisheries negotiation, such as the setting of quotas, remain a
See also
- Economy of Scotland
- North Sea oil
- Scottish Fisheries Museum
- Whaling in Scotland
- North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Royal Society of Edinburgh, 2004
- ^ Pitcher et al, 1982
- ^ Jennings et al, 2001
- FAO
- ^ Hislop, 1996
- ^ Marine Management Organisation (27 September 2018). "Fishing industry in 2017 statistics published". gov.uk. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
- ^ a b WGNSSK
- ^ Sea Fisheries Scottish Government. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
- ^ Loch Torridon nephrops creel fishery Marine Stewardship Council. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
- ^ Certificate suspension Loch Torridon Nephrops creel Fishery January 2011.
- ^ "Raid on fish processing factory". 11 May 2006 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ 'Gangmaster' raids on north east BBC News, 25 March 2004.
- ^ "Scottish Creel Fishermen's Federation || About SCFF". www.scottishcreelfishermensfederation.co.uk.
References
- Hislop J.R.G. (1996) Changes in North Sea gadoid stocks. ICES Journal of Marine Science, Volume 53, Number 6, pp. 1146–1156(11)
- Jennings, S., Kaiser, M.J. & Reynolds, J.D. (2001) Marine Fisheries Ecology. Blackwell Publishing ltd., Oxford. 417pp.
- Payne, A.I.L., O'Brien, C.M. & Rogers, S.I. (2004) Management of Shared Fish Stocks. Blackwell Publishing ltd., Oxford. 367pp.
- Pitcher, T.J. & Hart, P.J.B. (1982) Fishies Ecology. Chapman & Hall, London. 414pp.
- Report of the ICES Working Group on the North Sea and Skagerrak.
- Royal Society of Edinburgh (2004) Inquiry into the future of the Scottish fishing industry Archived 7 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine 128pp.
External links
- Sea Fisheries on Scottish Government website
- The Scottish Continental Herring Trade 1810-1914
- Scottish Seafood Association - an organisation in Scotland promoting the Scottish seafood industry.
- Scottish Fishermen's Federation
- Seafish - the UK Seafish Industry Authority
- Seafood Scotland
- Fishing Scotland.org Where to fish in Scotland, gear shops, and other information.
- Trawler Pictures - A Forum and Gallery Dedicated to Commercial Trawlers With mostly Scottish and U.K Based Members