Scotland studies impact of cod recovery plan

As European Union fisheries ministers huddle in Luxembourg on Tuesday to discuss the future of EU fisheries policy, the Scottish government began work on assessing the impact of the cod recovery plan on Scotland’s fishing industry.

According to the government, the study will investigate how issues such as fuel and fish prices, quotas and the days-at-sea regime are affecting fishermen in today’s challenging economic climate.

“Our new economic impact assessment will provide a detailed picture of the issues and allow us to work with the industry and Europe to map out a profitable future for our fishermen,” said Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead, who’s participating in the latest round of fisheries and agriculture talks in Luxembourg.

The aim of the research is to demonstrate how the restrictions mandated under the cod recovery plan have impacted the long-term viability of the U.K. fishing fleet in the West of Scotland, the Irish Sea and the North Sea.

The plan is based on a 25 percent cut in cod mortality in 2009, followed by annual reductions of 10 percent. The scheme, which echoes Scotland’s Conservation Credits Scheme, dictates how much time many European fishermen are allowed to fish.

Lochhead said that the restrictions imposed on the Scottish fleet this year by the EU, compounded by the downturn in the global economy, are “undoubtedly making life challenging for some of our fishermen.”

“When I met [EU] Commissioner Borg at the European Seafood Exposition in April, I urged him to commission an economic study at a European level,” said Lochhead, adding that this has since “come to fruition.”

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