New call for action on gill-netters
28th August 2023
Orkney and Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael is to lobby the UK government to put pressure on Germany after yet more revelations about the fleet of foreign gill-netters operating in Shetland waters.
Marine Scotland
Authorities floundering as lobster businesses attacked
10th August 2023
Questions are being asked of Marine Scotland, the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency and the local police force by the Fife inshore industry after a vessel was deliberately sunk in Methil Yacht Club in the early hours of 28 July.
Marine Scotland licensing deemed ‘unlawful’
6th July 2023
Legal challenge by Open Seas calls issuing of licences to scallop dredgers and bottom trawlers into question The Scottish government was still considering its reaction as FN went to press, nearly a week after a judge ruled that its licensing…
Open Seas launches bid to force Marine Scotland to rethink scallop licences
1st June 2023
The environmental campaign group Open Seas has launched a bid in the Scottish courts to force Marine Scotland to rethink the licences it issues for scalloping in Scottish waters. The licence variations issued by Marine Scotland to vessels with a…
Situations Vacant: Marine Scotland Appointment For Six Chairs
18th November 2022
Appointment for six Chairs at Marine Scotland for Outer Hebrides Regional Inshore Fisheries Group North and East Coast Fisheries Group Orkney Regional Inshore Fisheries Group Shetland Inshore Fisheries Group South West Coast Fisheries Group North West Coast Fisheries Group Marine…
Berried lobsters: Ban introduced in Shetland
5th October 2022
The Shetland Shellfish Management Organisation (SSMO) has brought in Scotland’s first ban on landing egg-bearing lobsters, in a move driven by local creel fishermen. Lobsters are considered reasonably plentiful in Shetland waters, with around 30,000 lobsters landed annually in recent…
Pelagic catchers slam changes
4th October 2022
The economic link changes mainly affect the pelagic sector, which makes significant landings abroad, mostly into Norway but also Denmark and Ireland, because better prices can often be obtained there than in Scotland. Scottish pelagic processors have called for more…
SCFF: Mixed reaction to creel reduction proposals
14th September 2022
The Scottish Creel Fishermen’s Federation (SCFF) gave a broad welcome to the principle behind the proposals aired by the Clyde Fishermen’s Association within the West Coast RIFG, whilst also questioning the overall benefits of a creel cap on individual vessels…
Vessel boardings ‘proportionate’ to nationality of vessels in Scottish waters
31st August 2022
Marine Scotland Compliance has published details of the number of vessels from both the UK and third countries boarded in Scottish waters by its marine protection vessels from July 2021 to June 2022. Scottish and UK fishermen regularly complain that…
SFA and greens issue joint call for gill-netting ban
13th June 2022
Fishermen in Shetland have joined forces with the local Green party to demand a ban on gill-netting in Scottish waters. This has been a serious issue for over a decade, and the unlikely alliance between fishermen and greens is symbolic…
