We’re sinking under pressure of EU quotas

8:13am Friday 28th March 2008

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By Nicola Fenwick »

THE region's fisherman are struggling to make a living because they say harsh restrictions are severely limiting what they can catch.

Europe's fishing industry is run from Brussels, which dictates what type of fish - and how many - fishermen in all 27 countries of the EU can catch.

More and more restrictions have come into force in the past few years and critics say they are bringing an already under-pressure industry to its knees.

In the North-East, many fishermen have abandoned their ships and a sizeable proportion of the region's fleet is now partly crewed by Filipino fishermen because there are not enough locals to go round.

Some fishermen are switching to smaller vessels because they are subjected to fewer restrictions - but they can only go out when the weather allows.

Others have gone to work on the North Sea oil rigs.

Rocketing fuel costs are an added burden, with 40 per cent of the income of the region's fishermen spent on fuel.

The strictest rules apply to the catching of popular fish, such as cod, hake and monkfish, which Brussels believes are being over-fished.

But while the industry disagrees, the World Wildlife Fund UK believes existing quotas are dangerously generous and has called for five areas of the North Sea to be permanently closed.

John Hall, skipper of the 60ft Whitby trawler, the Abbie Lee, said: "It's very difficult at the moment.

"The quotas and the days we are allowed to fish mean it's a real struggle - we are only allowed to fish four days a week, which isn't enough.

"It's the EU that sets the quotas, but the Government is supposed to be fighting for us - so why aren't they?

"There are a lot more fish stocks in the North Sea than what the scientists say there is."

Many of the region's fishermen now catch langoustines because there is a big export market for them. They have also been catching whiting, but even this is being curtailed.

Ned Clark, chairman of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisation's North- East committee, said: "The quotas have been cut for the past three years and we were threatened with an 80 per cent cut this year, even though there is no problem with the stock.

"Every year we seem to be faced with more restrictions, and it's becoming more and more difficult to make a boat operate properly. Most of us have been fishermen all our lives and we don't want to do anything else.

"We would hope that there would be some scope for easing restrictions in the future.

If they would just ease off and give us a little break for a couple of years so the industry could stabilise."