The SACN and SFSA attend SeaFAR meeting

The  SACN and SFSA attend SeaFAR meeting

The SeaFAR group was created to bring together key people involved in fishing - fishermen, fish processors, consumer, environmental interests, and governmental bodies to develop a detailed Action Plan for the Executive's Sustainable Framework for Scottish Sea Fisheries, published in June last year; see : http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/07/07105456/55012.

were present at a recent meeting of the group, where a progress report was presented, see : http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/09/25114623/0

The prospects for the main fisheries were assessed as follows :

Pelagic - mackerel - ok; herring - concerns
Shellfish - good
Demersal - haddock - good; monkfish - ok ; cod - depleted
Deep water species - problems (overfished)

The main focus for the industry going forward appears to be Independent accreditation as retailers are increasingly being required to demonstrate their sustainability credentials.

Hopefully this will go some way to helping rebuild the inshore stocks which have been seriously impacted over the years.