Two years ago there were 300-400 dedicated white fish boats in the United Kingdom, fishermen say. Now there are barely 120. Only 15 white fish boats remain in Fraserburgh, which has had the largest fishing fleet in Scotland. Twenty-nine boats were “decommissioned” there over the last year. Decommissioning is the term for scrapping a fishing boat to remove it from active duty, in return for a European Union payout. In response to these measures, the “Cod Crusaders,” based in Fraserburgh on the northeastern coast of Scotland, have launched a campaign that has gained a growing hearing.

In an interview with Militant reporters, Carol MacDonald, a leader of the campaign, described the effects of the government measures on her family. “My husband, Malcolm, is only allowed to fish for 15 days every month; before he’d be out for 25-27 days every month,” she said. “He’s paid by the catch so his income has dropped by £12,000 to £10,500 per year” (£1=$1. 83).

When the proposals for slashing the allowed fishing time were first put forward in November 2002, skippers were to be permitted only nine days per month. The extra six days were a “concession” in return for decommissioning 200 boats. Malcolm MacDonald said fishermen should be compensated for the days they are not allowed to work. “We should get compensation for lost wages,” he said. “How can we be prevented from working for two weeks in a month and cover our bills?”

Carol MacDonald referred to the effects on the town, with a population of 13,000. “Sixty percent of the population of Fraserburgh is in fishing related jobs,” she said. The crisis is affecting factory fish processors differentially. “Large processors can make up any shortfall from British boats with foreign imports, mainly from the Faeroe Islands and China,” she stated. Small processors have gone out of business. A relief skipper from Peterhead told Militant reporters last year, “Two years ago you could get £60-£80 for a box of small haddock, now you get £10-£15.”

Morag Ritchie, another leader of the Cod Crusaders, whose husband is the owner of two boats with total crew of 12, and is skipper of one of them, commented on the financial position such small producers find themselves in. “Both boats are mortgaged to the banks, one recently broke down and a £220,000 loan was needed for a new engine, gearbox, and drive shaft,” he said. “In good times the banks always want you to take out loans to modernize your gear. When things get bad, they come knocking on the door for their money. One boat that was decommissioned was two-and-a-half years old. The banks forced the skipper to decommission, as he was £430,000 in debt.”  
 
Capitalists profit, fishermen get shaft
The documentary film Gutted, shown by the BBC June 16, said that in recent years 60 percent of the Scottish fishing fleet has been eliminated, and out of the £40 million paid out for decommissioning 80 percent went straight to the banks to cover outstanding debts. In any case, Carol MacDonald said, “When boats are decommissioned the crew members get nothing, only the skipper/owners receive payments.”

Other fishermen also noted that the measures have nothing to do with conserving fish stocks and that their effect is to fatten the pockets of bankers and other capitalists, while devastating the livelihoods of small fishermen and workers on fishing boats.

“Decommissioning has got nothing to do with fish conservation,” said Ritchie.

Malcolm MacDonald challenged the accuracy of the reported destruction of fish stocks. “There’s more fish out there than there has ever been,” he said. “We recently landed 110 boxes, including 50 boxes of big mature fish.” Fishing campaigners feel that they were doing their bit towards fish conservation and that the government has let them down. “Skippers have spent thousands of pounds on larger mesh nets to conserve stock, and we still got ‘screwed’,” Malcolm MacDonald said. Fishermen in northeastern Scotland had been observing a five-year conservation plan, he said, which had resulted in a 25 percent rise in cod stocks over three years. “Fishing people are never asked, I’ve never seen a scientist in 40 years,” said John Buchan, a retired Peterhead skipper with 40 years on the boats. “We don’t want decommissioning, we want to fish. You get the value of the boat, but then what? Fishing is all we know.”

Fishermen in fisheries in western Scotland are also feeling the pinch. The Rockall fishery was closed for haddock and black scabbard fishing to Scottish fishermen in June, when they exhausted their quota of just 500 tons. Scottish Fishermen’s Federation chief executive Hamish Morrison said, “The trouble is that there is absolutely no remote connection between the quota that was set and hard survey evidence…The only survey information was from last September and it was rather positive, showing an improving stock position.” He added, “The only survey evidence was Russian survey evidence and the Russian scientist who should have come to the [International Committee for the Exploration of the Sea] (ICES) meeting to discuss it was not invited.” The fishermen vowed to continue their fight to have the fishing grounds re-opened.  
 
Cutbacks mean rising fatalities
In another twist to the problems facing the fishermen, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch’s (MAIB) annual report highlighted the effects of dropping income on safety. The report revealed that 11 fishermen were lost, presumed drowned at sea last year, with 10 of them in Scottish waters. During the same period, 27 UK commercial fishing vessels sank. The report said that lack of money for necessary maintenance, and crew cutting to cut labor costs, are the main reasons for these figures.

Stephen Meyer, chief marine accident investigator of MAIB, reportedly said that the report does not show the full extent of the problem. “We are aware that some accidents do go unreported,” he said.

“London’s not interested in Scottish fishermen,” said Buchan, reflecting a widespread view in the fishing communities hear. A number of working fishermen said they resent the contempt that Westminster has treated them with, with English ministers laughing off their protests and publicly dressing down a Scottish government fisheries minister when he proposed he lead the UK delegation to the EU negotiations.

Sixty percent of the white fish caught in UK waters is landed in Scotland. The bourgeois Scottish National Party has been quick to tap into this, to exploit genuine nationalist sentiment. A leaflet this party circulated prior to the June elections for EU parliament, said, “We need to return powers over fisheries from Brussels and London to Scotland, so that we can build a viable and sustainable Scottish fishing industry.” Also seeking to draw fishermen in Scotland away from seeking allies among exploited producers across Europe, the Conservative Party has sought to hijack their cause, using it to rationalize its protectionist and anti-EU program. Edward Brocklebank, the Conservative Party fisheries spokesperson for Scotland, claimed July 6 that the problem is that EU funding is all going to Irish fishermen. Leading up to the recent EU elections, Conservative leader Michael Howard traveled to Fraserburgh for a photo shoot with leaders of the Cod Crusaders.

The Cod Crusaders have been campaigning against the devastating effects on the fishing communities since November 2002. Their activity indicates that, while welcoming support from diverse quarters, they refuse to be drawn into openly reactionary schemes that cut them off from fellow producers in nearby countries. The group has participated in flotillas of fishing boats from Scotland and England sailing up the Forth and Tyne estuaries. Fishermen from across the UK also participated in a Europe-wide protest in the Belgian port of Antwerp, highlighting how small fishermen across Europe are facing devastation.

“We’ve spoken at public meetings all over Scotland, from the Shetlands to Edinburgh,” said Carol MacDonald. “In the Shetlands, 300 people came to the meeting. We’re going over to Ireland to meet campaigners over there, having been invited by the magazine The Irish Skipper.”

Peter Clifford also contributed to the article.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home