Tag Archives: Shetland Fishermen’s Association (SFA)

SFA: No evidence that a fishing vessel caused telecom cable damage

Shetland suffered a major blackout last Thursday when the Faroese owned subsea cable, which already was damaged halfway between Faroe and Shetland, got another hit just east of the Shetland mainland – cutting off most mobile and internet based services. While cable owner Faroese Telecom has always said the damage was likely to have been caused by a fishing vessel, a large section of the national media preferred the notion that it could have easily been an example of low-level terrorism by Russia. As repairs are likely to last into the weekend due to poor weather conditions, no-one has so far published any evidence that would support one option or the other. >click to read< 12:21

Record stocks disprove enviro mobster claims of overfishing

Shetland Fishermen’s Association is calling on government ministers and civil servants to resist any calls from environmental NGOs to slash fishing quota after the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) found that whitefish stocks in Scotland’s waters have doubled in size over the last 20 years. Analysis from the international body, which makes the annual recommendations for total allowable catches (TAQs), has now shown that fish stocks in Scotland are at record level while the amount of fish being caught has declined markedly. >click to read< 09:21

Shetland Fishermen’s Association (SFA) warns skippers of dangers fishing near Total’s gas pipelines in Yell Sound

sfa-logoThe fishermen’s body has accused the company of “doing nothing” to make the area safe. It is urging shellfish boats in particular to stay away amid “serious” concerns for vessel safety. The concerns are due to the amount of rock dumped on top of the MEG (monoethylene glycol) and service lines running adjacent to the main gas pipelines coming from the Laggan-Tormore field west of Shetland. On Monday, following delays of more than 18 months, Total was finally able to announce that it had brought ashore the first gas as part of a £3.3 billion development viewed as crucial to the UK’s energy security. Read the rest here 08:55

Cod cut would increase discards, Shetland fishermen warn

Fishermen in Shetland are urging the EU and Norway to abandon a controversial cod management plan and increase North Sea quotas to help reduce dumping of healthy fish at sea.,, “On the one hand they want to eliminate discards, but on the other they want to cut quotas which would have the direct effect of increasing discards. Read the rest here 08:39