Memorandum by the Scottish Fishermen's
Federation
1. Thank you for the opportunity to submit written
evidence on the fisheries aspects of the EU Reform Treaty.
2. The Scottish Fishermen's Federation is the
primary trade association representing the catching sector of
the industry in Scotland, with constituent membership all round
the coast and including the Northern Isles.
3. The publication of the Reform Treaty coincided
with the beginning of the busiest section of the fisheries year.
Regrettably, this has limited greatly the effort available to
consult industry members and reach conclusions on its likely effects.
4. Regarding the most apparent change—the
alteration of decision-making to the co-decision procedure—it
is simply not clear to us whether this will be an advantage or
hindrance. The balance of benefit will lie between: more thorough
consideration with an extended chance to challenge, modify or
support proposed measures; extension of the timescale for introduction
of measures beyond perhaps that which is desirable for the timely
management of fisheries. In any case, the change will place a
greatly increased requirement for lobbying activity upon a relatively
small industry. A notable exception is fixing and allocation of
fishing opportunities; this will be necessary to achieve the required
timescale for decision-making.
5. Regarding the exclusive competences of the
Union on the conservation of marine biological resources under
the CFP, what this will mean in practical terms is again not clear.
It does however sound worrying.
6. The wording of Article 13 TFEU on the Protection
and Welfare of Animals, which now includes fisheries, is quite
definitely worrying. To what degree fish are sentient beings may
be a matter for debate; however, the potential for advanced silliness
in policy making is clearly apparent. Inclusion of fisheries is
unfortunate.
14 December 2007
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