The legal amount of cod, which can be caught in 2020 by the UK’s fishermen, will be half what it is now. The decision was finalized at Brussels talks on fishing quotas for the coming year. However, even before those discussions, Scottish trawlermen representatives had agreed to a 50% reduction of cod that could be caught to preserve stocks.
Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) chief executive Elspeth Macdonald said:
The reduction in the total allowable catch for North Sea cod will have a serious economic impact on the Scottish whitefish sector next year and will present major practical difficulties for the fleet. We welcome the commitment to review and update the stock assessment model for North Sea cod, reflecting the changing distribution of cod in the North Sea, most likely as a result of climate change.
Sustainable fishing is crucial to protect the future of the industry, said the UK government. Speaking after the talks concluded, UK fisheries minister George Eustice said:
This year there has been some very challenging science for cod stocks in many parts of the North-East Atlantic and we have responded to conserve stocks. I know that some of the quota reductions will be very difficult for some sectors of the industry and there has been considerable debate this year about the importance of bycatch allowances to support the delivery of the discard ban. However, we also know that to protect the profitability of fisheries in the future, we must fish sustainably today.
The EU’s rules in the Common Fisheries Policy will apply until December 2020. After Brexit, regulation of the fishing industry in the North Sea will be controlled by the UK. Fisheries Secretary Fergus Ewing, who was at the talks in Brussels, added:
With Brexit about to happen, it has been clear the EU is already prioritizing other members over the state about to walk away. That is perhaps unsurprising, but coupled with the challenging scientific advice, it has made these a difficult two days.
With the onset of Brexit, Britain will leave the Common Fisheries Policy regime. Overall, next year will be extremely challenging, says Mike Park of the Scottish White Fish Producers’ Association (SWFPA). He told the BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland program:
It’s a stock that’s quite prolific in the northern North Sea. There’ve been significant changes over the whole of the North Sea but essentially next year that will cause the fleet problems which is now our focus to try and resolve that. In the next year, as the UK prepares to leave the Common Fisheries Policy, it is vital that the right scientific work is done to improve our understanding of the current status of the stock to enable better decisions to be taken on fishing opportunities for 2021.
The Brussels talks also included small increases in the permittable catches for Skate and North Sea Ling. And, it covered the loosening of some proposed control and management measures.
The UK government has set out plans for the future of fishing following Brexit. It said the environmental secretary’s decisions would be final, but devolved nations will still have a say in setting annual quotas for third countries. To guarantee a fairer share of the fish in UK waters for UK-registered boats, the government will move to a system of quota management.
Eustice is relieved the UK will soon rule over the waters because some of the challenges faced by the UK fishing industry had resulted from EU rules. He said:
Some of the problems have been exacerbated by the fact that the EU’s outdated method for sharing quota between member states means that the UK gets a very small share of the cod in our own waters.
Marine sustainability group Open Seas said:
Devastatingly this decision commits to yet more overfishing in the coming year. Quota for North Sea cod has been set roughly 30% above scientific advice. The agreements represented bad decisions for the health of our sea, bad debts that will be owed by future generations, and fail legal pledges to end overfishing.
Everyone knows that the UK is famous for its fish and chips, and Cod is the traditional fish used for the dish in England. Meanwhile, Haddock is the more popular choice in Scotland. Will the cost of these popular dishes change on the street due to the new fishing restrictions next year?
Industry sources can’t say for sure what impact all of this will have on the price of fish. However, it is assumed that the cost of cod may go up, while the price of haddock may go down. But, maybe not because a lot of the cod which makes its way to fish and chip shops in England comes from frozen at sea suppliers from Norway.
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