Barbed threat in Usan Salmon Fisheries dispute
A Montrose fishery business has found itself drawn into an international row over competing salmon fishing interests.
- By Chris Hardy
- Published in the Courier : 18.11.10
- Published online : 18.11.10 @ 11.50am
This week the granting of a £100,000 European grant to Usan Salmon Fisheries Ltd, Montrose, for investment in its netting business, was damned by the Scottish Association of Salmon Fishery Boards as a major blow to conservation.
Now the Faroese Salmon Fishing Vessel Owners' Association has accused Scotland of threatening stocks of wild salmon.
It has written to First Minister Alex Salmond, expressing "extreme disappointment" that netting is being encouraged around the coast of Scotland.
In the 1980s the wild salmon population of the North Atlantic was at an all-time low and the 'salmon nations' agreed to a co-ordinated programme to reduce commercial fishing, most notably in the feeding grounds around the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Greenland.
The Faroese claim that in 1991 they took a voluntary cut in catches in order to restore wild salmon stocks with Scotland, Norway and Iceland the principal beneficiaries of their action.
With the help of private and government funds mainly from Iceland, France and the USA, Faroes commercial fishermen agreed to cease harvesting any wild salmon in Faroese waters, leading to estimates of more than one million healthy salmon returning to Scotland and four million to Norway.
'Dismayed'
But in the letter to Mr Salmond, Niels Nielsen, chairman of the association, said they were "dismayed" to learn that, over the same 20-year period, Scottish coastal nets had killed 970,000 salmon.
The Faroese claim that, in effect, every fish they saved was killed in Scotland-making all their efforts in vain.
"Our fishermen are quite rightly appalled that their restraint has been completely undermined in Scotland, and they are now seriously considering reclaiming their rights to fish for salmon," said the letter.
"If they do, your netsmen will soon find they have few fish to catch and Scotland's multi-|million pound salmon fishing industry will be damaged beyond repair.
"It seems that the Scottish politicians have lobbied for and successfully obtained an EU grant of £100,000 to maintain and enhance the destructive salmon fishing activities at Montrose."
Mr Nielsen said the natural outcome was that Faroese fishermen were threatening to start salmon fishing again.
George Pullar, director of Usan Salmon Fisheries, one of the last remaining Scottish Salmon netting firms, said, "It is for each country to manage its own natural resources, without interference from others.
"We respect the right of other countries to manage their rural affairs and expect the same in return.
"I am confident that the legislation we already have in Scotland is sufficient for the Scottish Government to take action to protect salmon stocks, if and when necessary.
"Stocks are constantly under review by Marine Scotland experts.
"It is also worth noting that salmon netting effort in Scotland is now less than 3% of levels in the 1960s.
'Handful'
"Given this and the fact that only a handful of netting interests remain in Scotland, I would dispute Scottish net exploitation figures being suggested by the Faroese.
"It should also be remembered that salmon netting is an important part of Scottish tradition and our heritable legal rights should be maintained regardless of external pressure whether it be from organisations abroad or the UK angling lobby.
"It is certainly not in our interests to decimate salmon stocks and we have tabled voluntary conservation proposals to our local fishery board (the Esk) on a number of occasions."
The Scottish government said netting catches of Scottish salmon had been cut substantially over the past 20 years, and that Scotland had a history of reducing exploitation of the species.
"There has been extensive investment from both public and private interests in fishery management and, most recently, great steps have been taken towards restoration and conservation of the species," it said.
"The application from Usan Fisheries for a grant from the European Fisheries Fund was assessed against the published criteria.
"The focus of this consideration was that this project would improve working conditions and health and safety.
"The grants programme was open to those with an interest in eligible commercial fisheries, aquaculture and fish processing businesses.
"The Scottish government, along with local managers, continues to keep the status of Scotland's Atlantic salmon stocks under review."
04.31pm - 18.11.2010 Roy Blackhall - Banchory, Scotland Report This
If the salmon fishery boards are outraged about this then people should take notice. They are statutory bodies which have a duty of care for the protection of salmon stocks. They are not an angling lobby ! The Government is heading for a bloody nose over this.
09.33pm - 18.11.2010 T Lyons - Lossiemouth, Scotland Report This
Let's not forget the netters appear to have legitimate legal rights - this isn't zimbabwe!
09.33am - 19.11.2010 Roy Blackhall - Banchory, Scotland Report This
And so do the Faroese who are planning to excercise theirs and put the scottish coastal netters out of business. Given angling tourism is worth over £120 million a year to the scottish local economy who is kidding who here. Stop netting salmon before it's too late and you kill much bigger businesses
08.48pm - 19.11.2010 Evan Andrews - Brechin, Scotland Report This
The Scottish government is plain wrong in giving grants to a company who are putting at risk salmon stocks, angling tourism (worth far more to the economy than the netting) and international relations. Why subsidise a private enterprise employing very few people? I don't understand.
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