Creel fishermen win review of Skye fisheries

Scotland's creel fishermen have won a judicial review into the way fisheries should be managed in the seas off Skye.

The Scottish Creel Fishermen's Federation (SCFF) submitted proposals to separate mobile and static fishing in the Inner Sound as part of a trial.

The Court of Session ruled the proposal was turned down by ministers solely because of the strength of opposition.

The judge, Lady Poole, said the SCFF's proposal had not been fairly considered before being rejected.

Mobile fishing, through trawling and dredging, can often come into conflict with static methods.

Creel fishermen - who lay their pots of the seabed before returning days later to empty them - say thousands of pounds worth of gear can be lost when a fishing boat drags its nets through an area.

The proposal was to designate some areas of the Inner Sound of Skye to static fishing while others could be used by the mobile fleet.

A consultation, launched in 2017, invited fisheries management proposals for the seas around Scotland which would be judged against five criteria, including national and international obligations and the impact on quotas.

But Lady Poole ruled that the SCFF proposal for the Inner Sound was not judged on these criteria but simply on the strength of opposition.

Lawyers for the SCFF told Lady Poole Scottish government directorate Marine Scotland acted unreasonably when it rejected its plan.

The organisation claimed objections from trawler operators had outweighed "published criteria for assessing pilot proposals set out in the government's own guidance".

SCFF lawyers claimed the Scottish government's guidance stated that local community groups could put forward a pilot proposal which could be approved.

They said approval could be granted if such schemes provided firm proof that management of fishing stocks could be maintained and improved.

Creel fishermen have won a judicial review into the way fisheries around Skye are managed

Alistair Sinclair from SCFF said: "The Scottish government have in effect devolved management of our inshore to their friends in the mobile sector and this is costing Scotland a fortune in lost jobs and lost economic opportunity .

"I call on the Scottish government to recognise that management of the inshore must be lawful, in accordance with published policy and must serve the national interest and not just that of the trawl sector."

The Scottish government said it was considering the court's decision "very carefully".

A spokesman said: "This case focused only on the assessment of a proposal for the Inner Sound of Skye by some creel fishermen, and is not related to wider inshore fisheries management matters.

"A lot has happened since the case was lodged in May 2020.

"The Scottish government has been focused on supporting the fishing industry through the impacts of Covid-19 and EU exit.

"Last month we also published the Future Fisheries Management Strategy setting out policy initiatives for the next ten years including for inshore fisheries. We would encourage the SCFF to fully engage with this work through our inshore fisheries groups."