Cash to help make fishing greener

Published Date: 08 August 2008
By Frank Urquhart

THE Scottish Government yesterday pledged £200,000 to help the Scottish fishing industry to develop sustainable fishing practices to conserve threatened stocks.
The funding was announced by Alex Salmond, the First Minister, at a ceremony in Peterhead where the Scottish Pelagic Sustainability Group (SPSG) became the first organisation in the sector to receive eco-label certification by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) for its control of the North Sea herring fishery. The certification scheme is a voluntary fisheries eco-label which recognises responsible and sustainable working practices to conserve stocks.The Scottish North Sea herring fishery is one of only 31 fisheries worldwide to achieve the certification. It is also the first large-scale UK-based fishery to receive the award.Mr Salmond said: "Scotland's fishing industry is to be congratulated on its success in achieving MSC certification for Scottish North Sea herring and its work to harvest fish in a sustainable and responsible manner."Scottish seafood is among the best in the world and contributes more than £400 million to our economy. This new investment of over £200,000 highlights the Scottish Government's firm commitment to Scottish fisheries and to ensuring they are well-managed, sustainable and profitable."All fisheries depend upon well-managed, sustainable stocks, and certification is vital to the future success of Scottish fisheries and their local communities."Mr Salmond added: "Scotland recognises the importance of sustainability and is leading the way in sustainability certification with over 50 per cent of Scottish fisheries currently under full assessment for the MSC certification, and growing."It is clear more and more consumers are looking for a guarantee that the produce they are eating is sourced in a sustain-able manner, and certification schemes such as MSC play a valuable role in promoting fish consumption."The new investment will be used to strengthen the support available to Scottish fisheries seeking sustainability certification and will be used to part-fund Seafood Scotland's environmental manager and the MSC's Scottish outreach officer.Derek Duthie, the secretary of the pelagic group, said: "We are pleased that the SPSG has been successful in bringing together all Scottish fishermen and processors… to achieve MSC certification. This is the first large-scale fishery in the UK to comply with the exacting MSC standard."This is a notable achievement for the Scottish pelagic industry and underlines our commitment to sustainable fisheries."Rupert Howes, the chief executive of the MSC, said: "This is a significant fishery, both in size and location, and the certification means that international consumers will soon be able to buy Scottish-caught and processed MSC-certified herring and kippers."