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A modernised UK fishing industry can have a profitable and sustainable long-term future, says new report (25/3/2004)

The UK's fishing industry can be profitable and sustainable in the long term but must modernise to meet global competition, says a new report from the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit.

The report - 'Net benefits: A Sustainable and Profitable Future for UK Fishing'   - which is published today, proposes a possible long-term strategy for improving the fortunes of the industry and the communities which depend upon it.

It emphasises that the plan's success would depend on bringing the industry and other stakeholders into a partnership with government over management decisions.

The report also says that that the fishing industry will gain more from the UK staying in the Common Fisheries Policy - but at the same time calls for major reforms to the CFP, especially to allow regional management of fisheries.

Prime Minister Tony Blair said:

'There is widespread concern about the future of the UK's fishing industry.  That is why I asked the Strategy Unit to assess the issues facing the UK marine fishing industry and recommend action to create a stable future both for the industry itself and for the communities that depend upon it.

'I welcome the results and echo its calls for all the key players to come together to manage the resources - whether their interest is in scientific and environmental matters, the catching and processing industry, or in tourism and development. 

'Now I want the UK to give a lead in reforming the Common Fisheries Policy - by pushing the European Union further down the path of managing fish stocks on a regional level. This will give us more influence over the type of management regimes that best suit our fishing waters. '

The report has been presented to the UK Government as well as Fisheries Ministers for Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales, for their consideration. 

Ben Bradshaw - Minister for Nature Conservation and Fisheries - was the Sponsor Minister for the Strategy Unit project.  He said:

'The report conveys the very important message that the UK fishing industry can be profitable in the long term, provided that it modernises to meet global competition.

'It offers an extremely valuable and detached analysis of the situation in British fishing, which we must now use as the catalyst for taking the industry and its stakeholders forward. 

'The report rightly says that a more developed partnership approach is needed if implementation is to be successful. We must now explore and discuss the report in depth, and it is important that this is a fully inclusive process.'

Key recommendations of the SU report include:

Creating a competitive and profitable UK fleet

• Long-term profitability and stock recovery will require the removal of at least 13% of the whitefish fleet beyond the 2003 decommissioning scheme.
• Introducing individual tradable quotas - initially for pelagics and nephrops - to promote competition and give the industry a greater stake in the state of the stock.
• The industry should seek sustainable fisheries certification (by the Marine Stewardship Council or equivalent) for all major UK stocks by 2015. 

Improving information and compliance
The report says sustainability of fish stocks is only possible if the vast majority of the industry supports and obeys the rules. Without this, stock recovery and effective management is undermined. Improving compliance is about higher profits, better trust, effective enforcement and good rules. The SU report proposes:

• Decriminalisation of most existing offences and replacement with administrative penalties.
• Introduction of smarter enforcement system.  (eg: More emphasis on tracing landings through flows of money through processors. Using on-board observers for high-risk boats and risk-profiling).
• Better transparency - where all catches and landings are published on the internet and data submitted by fishermen to markets and the fishery departments by electronic log-books.
• The UK should continue to support stronger EU enforcement role and ensure a level playing field for all EU fleets.
• In the North Sea, Irish Sea and Channel mixed fisheries - where fisherman have little control over the species of fish they catch - to investigate the feasibility of restricting the amount of days fished instead of the amount of fish caught.

Regionalising EU management and decentralising UK management
All UK fisheries have unique biological and economic characteristics so management has to be tailored to circumstances of each fishery. The UK has no option but to manage many of its stocks jointly with other EU countries which share its waters. The CFP reforms in 2002 remove some of the biggest stumbling blocks to sustainability but more needs to be done to bring decision making closer. Key steps include:

• UK should work to progressively regionalise the management functions of the CFP, while also strengthening the EU's role work to create a level playing field through issues such as audit, enforcement and environment.
• Creation of regional fishery managers for the North Sea, Channel, Irish Sea and Western approaches by 2005, along with national managers for inshore/shellfish.
• Giving regional managers the authority to set management approaches and task and fund scientific research.
• Ensuring that industry have a clear role in co-commissioning research, and co-ordinating information; and provide other stakeholders clearly defined advisory roles inside the regional and inshore structures.
• Giving fishery managers tighter control on capital investment in boats to prevent 'boom and bust' cycles in fishing industry.

Providing community and environmental gains
Some remote and vulnerable communities depend upon the fishing industry and special steps are needed in these areas. The report's proposals include:

• Considering  the use of community quotas to assist vulnerable and dependent fishing communities.
• Reducing the volatility in stock by adopting a 'large stock' strategy. This would mean reducing the amount of fish caught in the short term for long term benefits.
• Introducing Strategic Environmental Assessments on major fisheries to fully understand the principal impacts of existing fishing practices on the marine environment.
• Introduce Environmental Impact Assessments when new gear is used or new fisheries opened up.
• Developing experimental marine protected areas, which provide benefits to multiple users (eg: commercial fishing, tourism, recreational fishers).

Notes to Editors

1.  Copies of the report 'Net Benefits' are available on the Strategy Unit website ( http://www.strategy.gov.uk/ ) or by telephoning 020 7276 1881.  The website also contains background papers and presentations produced during the project.

2.  At a meeting with representatives of the UK fishing industry on 28 January 2003, the Prime Minister agreed on the need for a project setting out options for the fishing industry for the medium to long-term.

3.  The objective of the project was to develop a long-term strategy for the sustainable future of the UK marine fishing industry, based on the need for sustainable management of marine resources and ecosystems, and the social and economic development of communities which depend on fishing activity.

4.  The sponsor Minister was Ben Bradshaw, Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Nature Conservation and Fisheries) at Defra. He took over from Elliot Morley following the government changes in June 2003.

5.  The project team met over 130 individuals and representatives of groups throughout the UK. There were over 150 responses to the consultation paper issued on 10 June 2003.  A  stakeholder meeting in Newcastle on 1 October 2003 was the final event in a long-running and detailed consultation

6.  The project team, has worked working closely with the fisheries departments: the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Scottish Executive, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Office, as well as Scotland Office, Wales Office, No. 10, HM Treasury and other key government departments.

7.  The Strategy Unit provides the Prime Minister and Government departments with a capacity to analyse strategic policy issues and to design long-term solutions to problems. It was formed by a merger of the Performance and Innovation Unit (PIU), the Forward Strategy Unit (FSU) and parts of the Policy Studies Directorate of the Centre for Management and Policy Studies (CMPS) in June 2002.