Page 5 - NFF News March 2019

I don’t know if any of you have managed to see any of the BBC1 program ‘’FISH TOWN’’, it’s a documentary based on Peterhead fishermen and the industry in this area. I think I mentioned in a previous newsletter that £50m has been spent to improve the facilities at Peterhead, the most important fishing port in Europe.
If you haven’t managed to view this program I would recommend it to you. The fourth episode was on 4th February, but if you’ve missed any of the previous episodes they are still available on ‘Catch Up’ if you have a Smart TV.
It was back in 2006 when a BBC documentary program ‘TRAWLERMEN’ was first broadcast. These programs were narrated by Ken Stott, (Rebus) and Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who) and ran for about three series through to 2009. It highlighted the dangers experienced by our fishermen in the search for fish, as does this new program. The fishermen in TRAWLERMEN spoke in their local dialect known as ‘The Doric’, and because it was unlikely to be understood by viewers in England-shire, certain parts had to have sub-titles added. The program gained great acclaim and won awards. The main man was Jimmy Buchan and his trawler Amity 2. Now Amity 2 features in this new program, the Doric is still used by the crew members from the north east of Scotland and canjustbeunderstood,andcertainlyacerebralexerciseevenforme. Ishouldpointoutthatmany fishing vessels are now crewed by fishermen from Ghana and the Philippines and I suppose I can see the value of SEAFISH funding a training scheme as mentioned earlier.
Jimmy Buchan is still so involved in the industry and is now marketing manager for Scottish Seafood Association and a great ambassador for the fishing industry. three months, they are dedicated to make a success of the scheme to protect this valuable food asset.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Back in 2011 the chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall started a campaign drawing attention to the amount of dead fish being discarded at sea, 870,000 people signed a petition in support of stopping this practice. The public feeling was so strong that it became a major item on the EU Fisheries agenda, back then discarding became a dirty word.
It has taken a four year phasing in period within the EU to introduce what is called ‘landing obligation’, (also known as the discard ban) and it came into force on 1st January 2019, and there are problems. The ‘landing obligation’ is the basic rule which requires fishers to land all the fish caught regardless of whether they were caught in excess of allocated quota. In the past the excess could be discarded.
The fishers are faced with a major problem, where ‘landing obligation’ in a mixed fishery causes the problem, as certain species being caught will have no commercial value but still must be landed. The un-commercial part of the catch still counts as part of the fishers quota, and before long the catchers quota could be exhausted and the vessel could be tied up.
Fortunately, the UK House of Lords EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee has raised concerns about the damage that he EU ‘’landing obligations’’ could have on the UK fishing industry. It also highlighted how difficult it is to police, to check up on those catchers who are abiding to the rules. In the future there is the likelihood of CCTV cameras being installed on board each fishing boat. Considering this I do wonder if the other EU fishing fleets would be willing to comply. I doubt it. From my own sources it would appear that discarding will probably still take place, certainly until the current law can be seriously amended.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
As a tail piece dear reader, I do hope you’ve noticed that I haven’t mentioned BREXIT once. Mind you, I suppose I will have a lot more to say about it in our next newsletter! Hey ho!
Ken Watmough.
Scottish Seafood Summit
Following the success of last year's UK Seafood Summit held in N. Lincolnshire, Seafish are taking the debate and discussion to Scotland.
In the week that the UK is set to leave the EU, the Scottish Seafood Summit will be a platform for debate and discussion around one of the biggest topics to affect the seafood industry in decades.
As an independent organisation working closely with industry and Government, Seafish is well placed to help the industry manage the impact of the UK’s exit from the EU and are bringing together experts from across the UK to talk at the summit.
The event will be held over 26th & 27th March 2019 at the Double Tree Hilton Hotel in Aberdeen. Tickets are free but delegates will need to register in advance. Simply visit www.Seafish.org
This excellent networking opportunity will include an export seminar and Seafood Fayre showcasing local produce.
MSC North East Atlantic Mackerel Certification to End
The MSC certification for all North East Atlantic mackerel fisheries will be suspended on Saturday 2nd March 2019, meaning mackerel caught on or after 2nd March 2019 cannot be sold as 'MSC certified' or bear the blue MSC label.
The suspension comes after the mackerel stock in the northeast Atlantic dropped below a precautionary threshold level, while catches remain far higher than advised by scientists. The drop in stock triggered an expedited audit by the independent certifiers in November 2018.
National Federation of Fishmongers www.fishmongers.info
March2019 5