Chapter 6 - Maintaining our Skills
Question 13: Do you support our proposals to tackle the issue of how best to encourage new blood into the fishing industry?
Proposals:
- Work with the industry to encourage new entrants.
- Consider, in discussion with Scottish stakeholders, the merits of establishing a National Quota Reserve.
- Establish a Scottish Stakeholder Working Group, with a remit to explore and make proposals for a new entrant's scheme, with a particular emphasis on quota and licensing quota.
Summary of views received:
There was recognition that attracting new entrants was an area which required attention. It was a commonly held view that potential fishermen and those already in the sector were put off by low wages and a volatile market. Recruitment and retention problems were felt to be a bigger issue in some areas of the industry than others and if present trends continued some sectors, like the whitefish and inshore, would suffer from a serious shortage of labour in the years to come.
The proposal to consider the merits of establishing a National Quota Reserve was contentious. Recurring questions on the quota reserve were: where would the quota come from, who would administer the system, and on what basis could someone receive quota? Various responses stated that there was insufficient quota for the fleet at the moment and that emphasis should be on maintaining a sustainable fishery for those already in the industry.
Though controversial, there was some support for a National Quota Reserve. Evidence was heard of the positive impact of community quota schemes in encouraging new entrants into the sector and the mechanics of how such schemes operated. It was felt that if such a scheme were to be established it should join together many stakeholders in the industry and come with backing from the private sector. Suggestions for funding a national quota reserve included the imposition of a levy on Scottish vessels landing outside of Scotland, or the Government retaining a percentage of FQAs/Quota each time they were traded.
Other ways of attracting new entrants into fishing were suggested. These included: grants/loans for the purchasing of vessels/licences; funding for training qualifications; incentives for vessels to employ local fishermen and improving the public image of the industry.
Scottish Government response:
The Scottish Government is committed to working with the fishing sector to help it attract new entrants into the fishing industry and retain those who have existing skills. This is an area which needs to be addressed if we are to have vibrant fishing communities around our coast.
We recognise that although access to quota and licences is an important element in the health of the fishing industry in general and in recruiting and retaining those who enter the industry, we consider that this is a much wider issue that goes further than quota and licensing. A co-ordinated response is needed to attract new entrants into the sector which will identify the factors which will encourage people to pursue a career in fishing and see what measures could be put in place. A working group will be established to try and address these issues.
This group will have a wide remit, and will explore a variety of options including what part quota and licensing can play to encourage new blood into the industry and to retain existing crews. The group will meet for the first time in the first half of 2009.