Fishermen have been given fresh hope in their battle to get a fairer distribution of the UK’s fishing quota.
A raft of supportive statements from the Government’s Fisheries Minister, Richard Benyon, signals growing backing for their cause from Whitehall, according to Greenpeace.
In the strongest acknowledgement so far of the imbalance at the heart of the quota system, he told Channel 4 News: I do think there is a disparity between the sectors and I do think there is a job that needs to be done.
Greenpeace said it was the third statement within the space of a few days issued by the minister in support of small-scale fishermen, many of whom are facing increasing hardship because of restricted access to quota.
It comes in the wake of a Greenpeace ship tour in support of small-scale fishermen, which visited nine European countries and a number of coastal towns in the south of England, which included Hastings, where tens of thousands of people signed up to a petition calling for more help for low-impact fishermen.
Paul Joy, a Hastings fisherman and co-chairman of the New Under Ten Fishermen’s Association (NUTFA), which represents a large number of more than 300 small fishing boats registered in the south east, said: This does indeed show fresh hope, as the Government has been very supportive of us in getting a better quota for smaller boats.
At present more than 95 per cent of the UK’s fishing rights are in the hands of Fish Producer Organisations, which mainly represent larger vessels, while small fishing boats have access to just four per cent of the overall quota despite accounting for three quarters of the UK fishing fleet.
Talking to the Sunday Times earlier this month, Mr Benyon pledged to do everything to help the under-10-metre fleet’, saying it was vital to the future of the fishing industry’.
In the House of Commons on Monday he said that the inshore fisheries sector was engaged in very sustainable management of our (the UK’s) fisheries’.
The statements from Mr Benyon come as producer organisations are fighting a historic court battle to overturn the Government’s decision to reallocate some of their unused quota to under-10 fishermen.
The High Court ruling on this case, which started in May, is expected within weeks.
Ariana Densham, Greenpeace oceans campaigner, said: The fisheries minister’s bold display of support for small-scale fishermen will certainly be a morale booster to a sector of the fleet that is suffering growing hardship while being marginalised by the industry lobby.
Now Mr Benyon’s fine words must be turned into decisive action so that low-impact fishermen are given a fair catch.
Hastings and St. Leonards Observer