|
Ian Hudghton,
on behalf of the
Verts/ALE Group
. – Mr President, I should like to thank the
rapporteur, Mr Ó Neachtain, for his initiative in highlighting the special
needs and the economic and social importance of the inshore fishing
sector. It is a vitally important network of mostly small, mostly
family-run businesses, which are the lifeblood of most of our small
coastal communities.
Around the coast and the many
islands of Scotland, it is a sector that is of the utmost importance and
it undoubtedly has not benefited from the political support it deserves.
Unfortunately, though, Scotland’s offshore fishing industry has not had a
happy experience as a result of the common fisheries policy. So there is
not a great demand – to put it mildly – for new EU legislation specific to
inshore fisheries. However, support for initiatives in, for example, the
fields of vessel safety, fuel economy, training and investment funding is
worth pursuing at local and EU level, through the European Fisheries Fund.
In Scotland it is not just the CFP
that has been bad for our fishing communities. Over the years, the
Scottish and UK Governments too have failed to support EU initiatives by
cofinancing. I hope that if, as a result of this report, we move towards
some specific new programmes to assist coastal fishing, the Scottish
Government will be persuaded to provide the necessary support.
Our small coastal communities have a very long history,
with generations of families making a living from fishing. I would like to
see those communities returned to a state where the young and the future
generations have some hope of being able to follow in that tradition.
|
