EU delegate side-steps fishing row

Fishermen were refused compensation

A top European Union civil servant has refused to take sides in the dispute over short-term compensation for Scotland's North Sea fishermen.

Steffen Smidt, Europe's most senior civil servant with responsibility for fishing, was quizzed on EU fishing proposals by a Scottish Parliament committee.

He appeared before the parliament's European Committee on Tuesday to answer questions about his green paper on reforming the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).

Rhona Brankin: Faced tough questions

There was a general welcome for his proposals, which include more local management of fish stocks, six and 12-mile coast limits and a large decommissioning scheme to reduce the size of the European fishing fleets.

He was also asked for his views on the Scottish Executive's refusal to give the North Sea haddock fleet compensation for a voluntary tie-up by hundreds of vessels.

He told MSPs that the EU was there to provide a tool box of measures for conserving fish stocks - and it was up to each country to decide which tool to use.

But he did add that the costs of short term compensation soon mount up.

"It is amazing how fast, in terms of timing, you spend more money on tie-up schemes than you would have spent on decommissioning," he said.

Scottish Fisheries Minister Rhona Brankin also gave evidence, stressing the advantages of the £25m decommissioning scheme she has already announced.

She said it was up to the boats' owners to pass on any redundancy payments to the crews.

Justified support

Mr Smidt has already warned that fish stocks in European Union waters are on the verge of collapse.

The policy document by the European Commission fisheries director general, known by many as the Great Dane, includes a plan for short term tie-up compensation.

The Scottish National Party and the Conservatives said it justified their support for the north east skippers who have reluctantly gone back to sea after the failure of their campaign earlier this month to secure a temporary tie-up scheme.

But the Scottish Fishermen's Federation said the green paper's plan is a more permanent measure and similar to the one it is still hoping to negotiate with the Scottish Executive.

Concerns have been raised about fish stocks

The Scottish Executive suffered its first defeat in the Scottish Parliament on 8 March, when it lost a vote on its proposals for the fishing industry.

Ms Brankin had unveiled a long term decommissioning scheme which would have paid to reduce the size of the industry by one fifth.

Opposition parties demanded that the executive pay short term compensation to fishermen in the north east of Scotland who had voluntarily tied up their boats to conserve haddock stocks.

Skippers had stayed in port because they said the European plan to conserve cod stocks - which has seen areas of the North Sea closed down - was forcing them to fish areas populated by immature haddock.

The executive eventually forced through the vote on the decommissioning package.