MSP Commends Fishermen on Stock Management

Local SNP MSP Stewart Stevenson has commended the fishing industry for its approach to stock management during a debate on fisheries in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday.

Speaking during the debate, Stewart Stevenson said:

“Our fishermen are absolutely to be commended for the way in which they have risen to the challenge of stock management, often in the face of total misunderstandings of science and totally ineffective and uninterpretable regulation.

“Nonetheless, our fishermen have found a way to rebuild an industry. Stocks of cod are at three times their level in the relatively recent past.”

Turning to the issue of consumption, Mr Stevenson continued:

“We have an issue not just in catching fish and the regimes that surround that but in fish consumption levels, which are pretty static. We have not seen much increase in fish consumption, despite the fact that our processing and catching industries continue to grow and become a more valuable component of our economy.

“We have to address that issue. In other debates and other places, we have referred to the UK body Seafish, which we have to keep an eye on.”