Tuesday, 24th February 2009
European Commission should compensate West Scotland fishermen
A European Commission error that caused West of Scotland fishermen to be deprived of some of their Common Fisheries Policy entitlement should result in compensation, Struan Stevenson, Conservative fisheries spokesman and Scottish MEP, said today.
The Clyde Fishermen's Association lodged a complaint with the European Ombudsman after an error caused the data in the columns for the West of Scotland and the North Sea to be interchanged, reducing their fishing allocation. This meant that in, in January 2007, fishing days were cut by 10%, from 280 to 252.
The Ombudsman has today said the Commission should accept the error, and it has given them until April to give a detailed opinion.
Mr Stevenson said:
“This bombshell finding by the EU Ombudsman is a complete vindication of what I have been arguing for years - micro-management of fisheries policy by a team of desk jockeys in Brussels is simply not working.
“This mistake is further proof, if any was ever needed, that fisheries management should be devolved to Regional Advisory Councils (RACs) which combine stakeholders like fishermen and scientists and know exactly what measures are best for fish stocks in their zone.
"I trust that the Commission, based on this finding by the Ombudsman, will now compensate the West of Scotland fishermen whose livelihoods were damaged by this appalling error."
