Tag Archives: Simon Collins
Vindicated: Fishing industry celebrates big rise in cod quota
Shetland Fishermen’s Association executive officer Simon Collins said on Friday that skippers feel vindicated after arguing that catch allocations in recent years did not reflect the reality on the grounds. For years, fishermen have said they have never seen so many cod which is now evidenced through the latest assessments which describe key commercial stocks as at their highest level for decades. “Deficiencies in stock assessment processes are finally being addressed, and the science is now catching up with reality, proving that fishermen have had the right of it,” he said. >click to read< 13:53
Scots fishers urge ministers to resist campaign for giant freezer trawler
The UK Government is being urged to ignore a “concerted campaign” to deprive Scottish fishers of quota in favour of a huge, foreign-owned freezer trawler operating out of a British port. Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association chief executive Ian Gatt and Shetland Fishermen’s Association executive officer Simon Collins said lobbying by the vessel’s owner, East Yorkshire-based UK Fisheries, to secure more fish “must be resisted”. Mr Gatt said: “This vessel operates out of Hull, but is owned primarily by Dutch and Icelandic interests, is largely operated by a non-UK crew and processes its catch on board. >click to read< 09:31
Brexit deal branded ‘sell out’ after ‘shameful’ treatment of fishermen
The Trade and Cooperation Agreement which went live at 11pm on December 31, 2020 and is widely referred to as the Brexit deal, set out plans to fulfil the promises made during the Leave campaign. An estimated 92 percent of British fishing communities voted for Brexit, likely lured by promises of “reclaiming our seas” and turning Britain into an “independent coastal state” with higher quotas for fishermen already struggling in the face of European competition. >click to read< 07:57 United Kingdom
Brexit: The betrayal of the fishing industry has been incredible and shameful
The British fishing industry is not likely to forgive its betrayal on Christmas Eve 2020. That was when the UK government struck a deal with the European Union that respected none of what the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations called “the promises, commitments and assurances made during the Brexit referendum campaign and throughout the negotiations with the EU”. And these were not any old promises and commitments. They were made publicly and at all levels in government, including by the Prime Minister himself. >click to read< 07:48
Shetland fishermen against Brexit transition period extension
In the light of the Covid-19 crisis and the deep recession forecast for 2020, Liberal Democrats and the SNP have been lobbying for an additional delay before the UK leaves the EU. But Simon Collins, the SFA’s executive officer, said that as far as he could see there was “not much appetite within the government to extend”, and fishing was a special case anyway. “Whatever decisions are being made for other parts of the economy, for which we can’t speak, as far as fishing is concerned our stance is absolutely clear: we have every intention to push the government to deliver, at least for fishing, that we are an independent coastal state by the end of the year. >click to read< 15:46
Coronavirus: Urgent measures sought to help shellfish sector market undermined by continental closures
Discussions are ongoing with the Scottish Government for temporary help for the sector which is hardest hit among the local strands of the fishing industry. Shetland’s continental exports are mostly crab and scallop, but prawns (nephrops), which form a huge part of Scottish seafood exports, are also badly affected. Shetland Fishermen’s Association executive officer Simon Collins said that it was essential to support a sector that in normal times was very healthy in order to tide it over till the effects of coronavirus had broken. >click to read<08:40
Leaving the CFP ‘more urgent’ than ever
Leaving the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is ‘more urgent now than ever’, according to an isles fishing representative. Simon Collins, head of Shetland Fishermen’s Association (SFA), has reacted strongly to the news that there will be a 50% cut in North Sea cod quotas next year. The agreement between Norway and the EU follows three rounds of fisheries talks in Brussels,,, >click to read< 13:09
UK fishermen furious at quota madness demand hard Brexit: ‘France don’t give away wine!’
Simon Collins, executive officer of the Shetland Fishermen’s Association, said those he represents are “not impressed” by the Government’s handling of Brexit and any further delay to the UK’s exit from the bloc would not be welcomed on the islands. Mr Collins said Shetlanders are sick and tired of watching foreign boats sail into their waters and leave loaded with fish due to “unfair quotas” set by European officials. “The UK sits in the most productive seas in the EU but we don’t reap the benefits. >click to read< 11:34
‘It’s a whiff of BETRAYAL!’ Fisherman FIRES back at threat to extend Brexit transition
Brexit supporting fishermen have fired back at calls for Britain to extend the post-Brexit transition period, with fishing boss Simon Collins branding plans tie the fishing industry to the European Union’s controversial Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) for even longer after Brexit as a “betrayal”. >click to read<09:52
Pro-Brexit Scots fishermen fear Westminster ‘power grab’
The pro-Brexit Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) has warned the UK Government’s legislation to leave the EU must be amended if Holyrood’s powers are to be respected. The call comes after the Scottish and Welsh devolved governments set out their proposal for 38 amendments to the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill to stop what they describe as a “power grab” by their counterparts in Westminster. Scotland’s devolved settlement was built upon the presumption that the UK would continuously be part of the EU. click here to read the story 10:45
Time to discard top-down regulation of Scotland’s fishing
Brussels is not working for any but the bureaucrats, argues Simon Collins At a time when the health of our seas has become a serious and global concern, attention has focused on the fishing industry and the way our wild fish stocks are managed. This is not only understandable but perfectly reasonable. Fishing is by no means the only human activity that affects the sea. It’s probably not even the most important one – pollution and greenhouse gas emissions are obvious candidates – but it has to be regulated somewhere. For somewhere like Shetland, where fishing and aquaculture together account for a third of economic activity, the consequences of a free-for-all would be unthinkable. Read the rest here 21:11
