The results from a YouGov survey for Greenpeace published today will add further pressure on the fisheries minister Richard Benyon to live up to the outcome of last month’s deal over the new EU fisheries policy, which paved the way for more fishing quota to go to those fishermen who operate sustainably, contribute to the local economy, and play by the rules [1].
A fairer distribution of fishing rights has been the key demand of a ground-breaking joint campaign by Greenpeace and small-scale fishermen, which has seen the iconic icebreaker ship the Arctic Sunrise sail around nine European countries and visit nearly 20 ports over three months. On her ‘Gulliver tour’, which reached London, its final destination, on Friday ahead of World Oceans Day, the Greenpeace ship brought the plight of small boats to the attention of the public and key decision-makers, sparking a huge wave of public support for small-scale fishermen across the continent, with over 110,000 people signing up to a paper boat petition calling for low-impact fishermen to be given a fairer deal [2].
Under the current system fishing quotas are allocated in fixed amounts to the same larger-scale fishermen on the basis of how much fish they caught in the past – their so-called ‘track record’ – regardless of the environmental, social, and economic impact of their trade. This has led to small-scale British fishermen having access to just 4 per cent of the UK fishing quota despite making up three quarters of the country’s fleet and being its more sustainable part [3]. Over 95 per cent of Britain’s fishing quota is in the hands of powerful trade associations representing larger vessels, often controlled by interests based overseas.
The YouGov poll indicates a majority of the public would favour a system where the environmental and socio-economic benefits of fishing activities play an important role. Nearly nine out of ten people surveyed (88%) agreed that, in the distribution of quota, priority should be given to those fishermen who either fish sustainably (54%) or bring direct economic benefits to the local economy (8%), or do both (26%).
Two thirds of respondents (67%) also said they care about the environmental impact of how the fish they buy are caught, with two in five (41%) saying they care more about it today than they did ten years ago. The figures point to a widening gap between the way in which fishing rights are allocated and the growing demand from consumers for sustainably caught seafood.
Greenpeace oceans campaigner Simon Clydesdale said:
“At a time when consumers’ hunger for sustainable seafood has grown bigger than ever before, you would expect low-impact inshore fishermen to thrive. Instead we have been hearing the same distress signal coming from fishing communities in the UK and across Europe: small-scale fishermen are going under, sunk by a grossly unfair system that is denying them a fair catch.
“This is a totally absurd and unjust situation which cries out for a swift solution. The latest deal struck in Brussels over a new fisheries policy gives our minister a clear mandate to push ahead with a major reshuffle in the distribution of fishing quota, and our survey indicates such a reform would enjoy an overwhelming level of public support. It’s now time for our fisheries minister to grasp the nettle and deliver a better deal for small low-impact boats.”
Yesterday a group of small-scale British fishermen were joined by a delegation of artisanal fishermen from several European countries aboard the Arctic Sunrise, at berth in the London Docklands, for the handover of a ceremonial ship lantern which has been relayed from fisherman to fisherman as they accompanied the ship across nine different countries.
Highlights from the three-month ship tour across Europe’s seas include a 60-vessel strong flotilla of small fishing boats welcoming the ship to Muros, Spain, and the display of a 144-sqm floating banner off the French coast in Brittany. On the Greek leg of the tour local fishermen and Greenpeace campaigners also met with the EU fisheries commissioner Maria Damanaki, who was handed a common declaration from Europe’s low-impact fishermen.
Jeremy Percy, chief executive of the New Under Ten Fishermen’s Association (NUTFA), who represents hundreds of small-scale fishermen in the UK, commented:
“Decades of disastrous UK and EU fishing policies have turned under-10-metre fishermen, who make up the largest part of our fleet and fish in a low-impact way, into an endangered species. But the tidal wave of public support generated by the Greenpeace tour and the good news from Brussels have given us hope that this broken system can be fixed. We need a new way of allocating fishing rights that gives the best return for our local communities and our seas, and I’m confident the fisheries minister will work hard to make it happen.”
The Arctic Sunrise will be moored at West India Docks in the London Docklands until tomorrow morning. At a quayside stall people will be able to join Greenpeace in showing their support to small scale-fishermen by signing and folding paper boats.
ENDS
Pictures from the Greenpeace ship tour are available for download here (please register to access the database): http://photo.greenpeace.org/C.aspx?VP3=ViewBox&STID=27MZIFVF53IF&CT=Story
The full results of the YouGov poll for Greenpeace are available here: http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/document/yougovsurveyresults
Notes to editors
[1] For more details on the agreement reached last week by the EU Council and the European parliament over the new Common Fisheries Policy go to http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/pressroom/content/20130527IPR10573/html/European-Parliament-secures-sustainable-fisheries-policy
[2] About 25,000 actual paper models have been collected during the tour in Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, Spain, France and the UK. An additional 90,000 virtual paper boats have been created online - https://myboat.gp/uk/ - from several other EU countries.
[3] For figures showing the share of fishing quota held by the small-scale sector see: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/whall/?gid=2012-02-22a.331.2 (6thparagraph from top)
More information on the composition of the UK fishing fleet here: http://www.marinemanagement.org.uk/fisheries/statistics/annual.htm
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1,905 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 5th-6th June 2013. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
