NEW REPORT BACKS FISHERMEN’S VIEWS

ANGUS PORTS HAVE SUFFERED YEARS OF CUTBACKS

Angus MP, Mike Weir, has supported a parliamentary motion calling for the UK fisheries minister and the European Union to take account of a report from the Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership which indicates that cod has moved northwards in the North Sea as a result of sea warming changing the distribution of plankton.

Commenting on the report, Mr Weir said:

“This report goes some way to supporting the views of local fishermen that the real problem with cod is that due to changing sea temperatures the fish are moving north.

“The present cod recovery plan has imposed drastic reductions in catches for plentiful species such as haddock and nephrops, yet it could be that this is totally the wrong way to try and preserve the cod.

“The local fishing industry in Angus has been decimated by years of quota cuts.  There are now very few boats operating out of either Arbroath or Montrose.  It is imperative that this new evidence be taken into account before there any more cuts made.  There are complex forces at work in the marine environment many of them caused by climate change.”