4 April, 2007

THE SCOTTISH fishing industry has entered the Scottish election campaign by calling on the new Scottish Executive to make fishing a top priority.

Yesterday (Tuesday), the Scottish Fishermen's Federation (SFF) released a mini-manifesto lobbying Holyrood to work with them to tackle the major issues facing the industry's future.

These issues include:

a.. gaining the maximum sustainable catching opportunities for the Scottish fleet at the annual negotiations;
b.. the fair management of regulation controls for 2007, including the number of days-at-sea, the cod recovery programme and discarding of fish;
c.. ensuring the pending UK Marine Bill takes into account the needs of Scottish fishing, recognising its socio-economic importance by making arrangements for marine spatial planning, UK marine management and marine
nature conservation; and
d.. helping to improve the public perception of the fishing industry, so that it is recognised as being a sustainable, responsible and compliant sector.

SFF chief executive Bertie Armstrong said: "Whatever the political landscape after the May election, the proper support of the Scottish fishing industry is vitally important and we hope that all parliamentary candidates will recognise this during the forthcoming campaign.

"We call upon all parliamentarians and in particular those forming the post-election administration to assist us in meeting the challenges which present themselves to one of Scotland's most notable heritage industries."