Mairi Gougeon, the cabinet secretary for rural affairs, has confirmed that the planned changes to timetables for developing Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) in Scotland, consulted on in October, would go ahead. Answering questions in the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee,…
Westminster protest on 19 November against threats to producers’ livelihoods and food security Great Yarmouth skipper Paul Lines and Lowestoft fishmarket boss and former MEP June Mummery are calling on the fishing industry to back a farmers’ protest at Westminster…
Catch rates up, prices down – but overall optimism about 2024-2025 Manx scallop fishery The Isle of Man scallop season opened on 1 November, with those involved reporting a ‘quiet’ start to the fishery, but also expressing optimism that over…
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has released its report into the grounding and subsequent loss of the Ocean Maid BA 55. The report – the purpose of which is not to attribute fault or blame – says that on…
Share a day in the life of the marketing and accounts manager of Killybegs-based family firm Shines Seafood, Ciara Shine. “My dad was a fisherman for around 25 years,” Ciara Shine, marketing and accounts manager of Shines Seafoods, told Fishing…
The Fraserburgh-registered Odyssey FR 70, skippered by local man Bruce Mitchell, was lost in the North Sea on the morning of Tuesday, 29 October. The 23.1m twin-rig trawler was reportedly around 140 miles east of Montrose when she transmitted a…
The EU has requested the establishment of an arbitration tribunal to rule on whether the UK’s ban on sandeel fishing is compatible with the Brexit Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA). The move follows pressure from the Danish industrial fishery and…
The Securing Sustainable Inshore Fisheries – Northern Regions workshop took place in Whitby last week Without fish there’s no fishery, but also without someone to catch the fish, there is no fishery.” This is a sentiment that is often aired…
Authority’s report records 17% rise in vessel inspections last year The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) annual report for 2023 has revealed an increase in fishing vessel inspections last year. The report, published earlier this month, shows that throughout 2023 a…
Restrictions on fly-seiners and new minimum landing sizes to come into force in December Legislation implementing a range of management measures set out in the first published Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) was introduced to parliament on 16 October. Subject to…
