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UK secures balanced fisheries deal

fishing boatUK Fisheries Minister Huw Irranca-Davies has welcomed a European Union agreement which will see British fishermen gain quota increases while taking action to protect stocks and cut waste.

Fishermen secured bigger hauls of some types of fish and suffered a smaller than feared cut in prawn quotas, while in the important West of Scotland fishing grounds the UK successfully resisted cuts to the livelihoods of fishing communities while fishermen there will face challenging new conservation measures.

Increased catch limits for British fishermen in 2009 include:

  • 30 per cent more North Sea cod;
  • 32 per cent more mackerel;
  • 13 per cent more North Sea plaice; and
  • 8 per cent more monkfish for West of Scotland.

Mr Irranca-Davies said:

“This is a fair deal overall for the UK, balancing the needs of our fishermen to make a living with the need to protect fish stocks for the future and prevent huge amounts of what they catch having to be thrown back dead into the sea.”

Page published: 19 December 2008