Executive's Decommissioning Scheme Will Fall Short Of Objective

Banff & Buchan MSP Stewart Stevenson has received a Parliamentary answer from the (now former) Fisheries Minister Rhona Brankin which indicates that the Executive will fall short of their objective for the decommissioning of Scotland's fishing industry.

The scheme applies to vessels over 10 years old, hundreds of boats less than this age, the most effective in the fleet, have been excluded from this scheme. Only 36 per cent of the rest have put in eligible scrap grant bids totalling almost £50 million thus oversubscribing the £25 million scheme by 100 per cent.

Mr Stevenson said:

"According to Rhona Brankin's own statistics this scheme looks set to take out 20 per cent of eligible vessels over 10 years old. It won't take out 20 per cent of the white fish fleet which is the real marker.

"It misses all the newest and best vessels completely, which tinne for tinne are more efficient than older boats and probably account for a bigger percentage of fish caught.

"Ms Brankin's parliamentary answer also contradicts. In one breath she states that there is no fixed definition of a white fish vessel and then refers to 'actual and potemtial white fish capacity'.

"I am not concerned with the semantics, I would just like the Minister to give me a straight answer to my question, what proportion of the 'actual' white fish capacity will be scrapped by this scheme."