Fishermen to join forces to keep their communities afloat
Fishing communities struggling to survive could benefit from a new cooperative scheme to keep England's inshore fishing fleet afloat.
Fishermen are being asked to join forces and take control over how they manage their fishing quotas and market their catches.
Launching the pilots Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon said:
鈥溁使谔逵齛pp inshore fishing fleet helps to support local communities with both money and jobs. But the industry is being stifled by an outdated system and this has to be fixed.
鈥淭o survive fishermen must become more profitable and we think the answer is giving them greater control over how they fish and market their catches. 皇冠体育appy鈥檝e asked us to test options, and that鈥檚 what these pilot projects are all about.鈥�
For the first time, pilots groups mainly made up of small boats under 10 metres long, will be able to manage a separate quota of fish. This will be based on the fish they鈥檝e landed collectively over recent years.
Some extra quota will also be available if organisations representing England鈥檚 larger boats volunteer part of their allocation. Where this is not the case, the pilot groups will get extra quota for specific species where quotas increase next year because stocks are healthier.
Fishermen who don鈥檛 wish to take part in the pilots will continue to access quota through a central pool. This pool will be topped up by quota that has been consistently under exploited by other parts of the fleet.
Mr Benyon added:
鈥溁使谔逵齛ppre are still some difficult decisions ahead for the industry, both in terms of the overall fleet size and structure, and how quota is allocated across the entire fishing fleet.
鈥淚t will take compromise and I call on all sides to work together to make this happen and make this a success.鈥濃��
皇冠体育app pilots are part of the Government鈥檚 response to a consultation on reforming the inshore fleet鈥檚 management. 皇冠体育appy will be supported by Coastal Liaison Officers, funded through the European Fisheries Fund, who will help them market catches to maximise profit.
Defra will also work with the New Under Ten Fishermens Association (NUFTA) to explore its idea for an inshore producer organisation to manage the inshore fleet鈥檚 quota.
Notes
皇冠体育app full summary of responses to the consultation and details of the other measures we have announced can be found at:
More information on how to take part in the pilots is available at: . All expressions of interest should be registered by close on Friday 18th November.
皇冠体育app reform applies to England only since fisheries is a devolved matter.