A Skye-based fishermen’s leader has voiced concern over the knock-on effect a proposed new Scottish Government fishing ban could have on small inshore boats.
Fisheries management measures could be introduced for 20 sites in offshore waters that are designated as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
A consultation proposes either zoned or full restrictions on the use of trawling and static gear at 15 sites. For the remaining five sites, the consultation proposes a full site-wide exclusion of specified gear types.
Last week’s announcement by net zero and energy secretary Gillian Martin comes just months after the government ditched its hugely contentious plan to impose Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMA) on a large swathe of west coast waters.
This week Neil Robertson, spokesman for the Ross, Sutherland, Skye and Lochalsh Fisherman’s Association, warned that such a move could push big trawlers into inshore waters, displacing small fishers who, because of their boat size, had no option to fish safely elsewhere.
Mr Robertson, of Duisdale, told the Free Press: “Any designation which inhibits fishing in these offshore areas by the large east coast, industrial fishing vessels will move them closer to shore, which means you will get displacement.
“That will have a significant knock-on effect because it will squeeze our small boats out of the more sheltered areas and affect not only their catch but also have major health and safety implications because where do they fish?
“It’s an indirect but nevertheless very real and significant development for inshore boats and it’s something that over the consultation period we will be making comment upon very forcefully and vigorously.
“My role is to protect the Ross, Sutherland, Skye and Lochalsh members’ interests and if they are going to be impacted we will lobby strongly to preserve our traditional fishing grounds.”
The Scottish MPA network now extends across more than 230 sites for nature conservation and covers 37 per cent of Scotland’s seas.
Gillian Martin MSP said: “MPAs already provide focused protection for the species and habitats in our waters.
“By implementing proposed fisheries management measures, we can further guard against further biodiversity loss, help to restore high priority marine features and make a greater contribution to supporting and maintaining the marine ecosystem, which in turn supports our long-term food security.”
Highlands and Islands MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston, who convenes the parliament’s cross-party group on islands, said the HPMA fiasco showed how little SNP ministers in Edinburgh considered communities who relied on the sea.
“I warned then that the Scottish Government would likely try and bring back new proposals which risked serious impact on the sector,” he said.
“That now appears to be the case.
“Even the SNP’s own consultation admits that the most extreme consequences could be a £66 million hit to the sector and our wider economy, as well as jobs being lost across the sector.
“That would be devastating.”
The consultation runs until 14th October.
Article by JACKIE MACKENZIE