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Andrew Pascoe President of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations
NAVIGATING SUCCESS
Welcome to the latest NFFO yearbook. I’d like to wish all of our members and supporters the very best for the year ahead.
This is my last task as NFFO President and by the time you read this, the baton will have been passed to Paul Gilson. I am sure he will be as energetic and determined in this role as he has been as Chairman.
In the past year, the UK’s post-Brexit fishing strategy took off in earnest, as the first fisheries management plans were published. The NFFO and many of its members spent a lot of effort in responding to these proposals. This has shown both what a huge job there is to do in developing an entirely new way of managing fisheries and also how broad and widespread our membership is.
We really do have members with an interest in every fishery, right around the country’s coastline.
Continued on page 24
This year, the new requirement to have a certificate of medical fitness has been a particularly difficult problem for many, especially those in the under 10m fleet, who make up almost half of the NFFO’s membership. The stress and anxiety created by the process have been a huge burden for some.
The NFFO has campaigned tirelessly for this unfair policy to be changed and has worked to support people who have been affected. I must pay special tribute to the efforts of Safety and Training Officer Charles Blyth here.
If there is anything positive to be taken from this very difficult time, perhaps it is the fact that our industry’s supporters in Parliament, the media and the maritime charities, have begun to focus not just on fishermen’s safety at sea, but also on their welfare in a wider sense. We all know that fishing can be a difficult, dangerous and stressful business. There’s no shame in admitting that, sometimes, we all just need a bit of help. Making sure that people can access the help that’s available will be a big focus for the NFFO in the coming year.
Another key area of work will be the approaching renegotiation of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU. Although this won’t conclude until 2026, preparations have already started. The NFFO will continue our efforts to work with Defra, to achieve more opportunities for all sectors of the fleet.
I’d like to close by thanking all the staff at the NFFO and NFFO Services for the commitment and passion that they bring to their jobs. It’s been an honour to serve as Chairman and the President of the NFFO. We are fortunate to have a particularly capable Executive Board at present and the Federation’s future is safe in their hands.
Photo courtesy of Welsh Fishermen’s Association
Mike Cohen Chief Executive of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations
CHANGE AND CONTINUITY
If there is a theme to this year’s introduction, then you could say that it is both change and continuity. Change because it is a constant in our industry and this year has certainly seen a lot of it in the NFFO. Continuity, because the fundamentals of what fishing and the Federation are about persist through all of that.
This is the first time that I have written the introduction to the NFFO Yearbook. Indeed, it is the first time that this section has had a new author for 26 years.
This has come about because 2023 saw the retirement of Barrie Deas from the post of Chief Executive Officer of the NFFO.
Many tributes have been paid to Barrie’s formidable accomplishments and his profound legacy - all of them richly deserved - culminating in his elevation to the rank of CBE in the King’s Birthday Honours.
Continued on page 26
When I spoke at an event to mark his retirement, generously hosted by the Fishmongers’ Company, I said that I could never hope to replace Barrie, but that having his remarkable example to follow would make the attempt very much easier. In fact, I have been privileged to stand on the shoulders of giants more than once.
I was first introduced to the NFFO by the great George Traves MBE, one of the Federation’s founders and a huge figure in our industry. In time, I sat on the Executive Committee and eventually became its chairman, all the time learning from those who had started their service before me.
It is a great strength of the Federation, then, that even when its personnel change, the values, ethos and understanding of the job that needs to be done endure.
Similarly, the challenges that our industry faces are at once both new and old; change and continuation.
We continue to have the usual wrangles around interpreting ICES advice and setting TACS and quotas. As the seas warm and stocks move, however, the parameters of those decisions are changing. We even have a new fishery to explore and develop thanks to the bluefin tuna trial in the Southwest.
As the UK has crawled towards its exit from the EU Common Fisheries Policy, aspirations, promises and hopes have steadily fallen by the wayside. Too much has already been written and said about how badly we were failed when a deal was finally reached. Something new was promised, but in the end far too much stayed the same. Even in that unwelcome continuity, though, there were elements of genuinely positive change. The implementation of Fisheries Management Plan agenda has its flawsconsultation is meaningless if the people with the most to lose don’t feel properly listened to - but the move to involve fishermen in fisheries management is one that many of us have advocated for years.
This is important, because it means that the people with the power to take decisions about the sea are, at the very least, acknowledging that we are here and that we are worth listening to.
Without that change, the risk is that – despite our centuries of existence as an industry –we will simply be ignored out of existence.
Ignored when other people plan how to divide up, between new interests and new industries, the seas that we are already working.
Ignored when government renegotiates our relationship with our main trading partners and nearest neighbours.
Ignored like the coastal communities we live in and support have been for decades, as politics and economics have left them behind.
Fishing should not be ignored. We have a compelling case to make – a story to tell of which we can be justly proud. We provide healthy, low carbon food that people can afford; provide jobs in places where there are few; provide a sense of continuity, opportunity and pride to people and communities.
I think that this is one of the NFFO’s most important tasks: to change how people our industry think about fishing.
For 46 years, the Federation has brought people together from right around the coast; from every sector of the fishing fleet; from the smallest vessels to the largest, to combine their strengths and speak as one.
We have been a powerful voice, advocating for the fishing industry.
If that voice is going to bring about change, it has got to continue being inclusive of everyone who wants to join; being ambitious for what our industry can achieve; and speaking with integrity.
Photo courtesy of Seafish
Paul Gilson Chairman of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations
CHANGE AND UNCERTAINTY
Introduction
The past year has seen change and uncertainty in the fishing industry, to an extent that is increasingly familiar. Constant upheaval has become our business as usual.
Our first substantive steps into the post-CFP fisheries management landscape have been taken, with the publication of the first six draft Fisheries Management Plans.
The inshore fleet has grappled with a Code of Practice and the application of a requirement to obtain a medical fitness certificate that has caused intense anxiety for many.
The Ukraine crisis has continued to affect energy and supply chain costs.
The pace of offshore development has accelerated for much of the past year and concerns about spatial squeeze and displacement have become ever more acute.
Through all of this, the NFFO has continued in its mission of providing the fishing industry in England and Wales with a clear, considered and united voice to those in power. Patient and careful advocacy may lack the showy visibility of a more strident but less informed approach. It gets results though. It brings people to the table, persuades them of our cause and makes a difference.
Trade and Cooperation Agreement
Our relationship with the EU continues to be governed by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The ramifications of that document have taken some time to become apparent and yet already minds are turning to its renegotiation. A new agreement will be reached in 2026 and the NFFO is actively engaged in the discussions over what form that will take.
The fishing industry felt intense disappointment that the promises made by those who advocated leaving the European Union were not kept when they won the vote. Renegotiation of the TCA presents an opportunity to redress that failure, make good on the pre-Brexit rhetoric and to improve the lot of UK fishing.
The transitional arrangements that allowed EU vessels to continue accessing freely the UK EEZ will end in 2026. It is open for such access to become part of the annually negotiated fisheries agreement with the EU. Early indications are that the EU will seek the continuation of the current arrangements for access to UK waters: hardly surprising, given the scale of the concession that they won in 2021. Access to our waters is a valuable currency, however, and those of us in the fishing industry might think that if our government is bent on spending it, it should at least exchange it for something of value, rather than giving it away yet again.
Domestic Fisheries Management
The Fisheries Management Plan agenda is perhaps the most radical change signalled by the UK’s departure from the EU. Area and stock-based management, securely founded on the best available science and developed by working groups with a strong presence from industry alongside experienced fisheries managers, is something very like the evidence-based co-management that many in fishing have advocated for years.
The six ‘frontrunner’ FMPs went out for consultation this year. The NFFO’s responses have respected the differences of opinion that may exist between parts of our diverse membership on some issues, while emphasising support for the principle of a collaborative, scientifically-informed management process.
Continued on page 30
Many within the fishing industry noted the significant strain placed on thinly-spread resources in attempting to respond to so many detailed consultation documents at once. With 37 more FMPs still to come, the size of the task must not be underestimated. It is to be hoped that the scale of the FMP programme’s ambition and the speed of its timetable do not undermine the significant value of its aims.
ICES Advice and TAC Setting
The advice provided by ICES ahead of the annual fisheries negotiations has, as always, produced a mixture of dismay, confusion and optimism. Its misinterpretation by outside observers who do not understand its nature and function has led to the usual catastrophe narratives around a variety of healthy fisheries.
North Sea Cod, in particular, presents a particularly egregious example of a situation where increasing biomass and a positive trajectory have nevertheless led to recommendations for a reduced TAC, thanks to a new stock modelling approach. A rigidly determined adherence to single stock MSY and a precautionary approach will only lead to the multiplication of instances like this.
Photo courtesy of Welsh Fishermen’s Association
Spatial Squeeze
Fishing may be the oldest human activity in our seas, but today many other industries and interest groups are staking claims.
Cables, pipelines, aggregate extraction, aquaculture, wind farms and more are all continuing to make their presence felt at sea and bring with them the risk of reduced fishing opportunities. The NFFO has responded to more than 50 consultations and applications relating to offshore development over the past year.
Last year’s ‘Spatial Squeeze’ report, commissioned jointly by the NFFO and the SFF, has continued to be a highly effective tool in our campaign to bring the issue to wider attention. The phrase has become a common one in marine spatial planning discourse and the report has been referenced in Parliament by Fisheries Minister and others. The Celtic sea fleet is still facing the deployment of the UK’s first large-scale floating wind farms and with them a significant loss of access to fishing grounds. The Crown Estate has been undertaking a process of gradually refining the areas of seabed that it will lease for this purpose. While this prospect could never be welcome, it must be acknowledged that, for the first time, the Crown Estate has consulted with and involved fishermen from the start of this process.
Continued on page 32
Photo courtesy of Seafish
As a result, most of the locations initially under consideration that would have been most damaging to fishing if developed are no longer at risk. Many fishermen engaged with the Crown Estate in good faith and we are happy to say that there is every sign that they have been listened to.
It is an unavoidable fact that fishing now has to share the seas with other sectors. It does us no good to deny this or to believe that there will ever again be a time when fishing is not constrained by other sea users. Neither, however, do we have to accept that fishing must always be displaced to satisfy the demands of others, or that the sustainable production of food is of lesser value to the nation than other endeavours.
The NFFO continues to fight for access to fishing grounds to be maintained, disruption to be minimised and economic loss to be properly compensated when it cannot be mitigated.
There is common ground to be found between fishing and other sea users. Productive sharing of resources is possible, when everyone is willing to communicate honestly and to join in the task of resolving conflicts.
All of the different maritime industries have a fundamental factor in common: the people who do the work want to go to sea to make a living and then come home safely.
Photo courtesy of South Devon and Channel Fishermen Ltd
HPMAs
After several years of debate and discussion, in which the fishing industry was given little role, the move to introduce Highly Protected Marine Areas was finally made. Five areas were selected for consultation, with fishers and local people having no say in their selection. It is highly telling that the areas chosen were leaked in the media - complete with prepared comment from environmental lobbyists - before they were made public.
In the event, despite concerted campaigns from eNGOs, only three of the five were selected. Overwhelming opposition from local people - many of them fishers - saw off the attempt to ban fishing and all other human activity from the sea around Lindisfarne. The high cost to fishers of the move was also cited as the main reason for failing to designate the Inner Silver Pit South site.
This still leaves the Dolphin Head, North East of Farnes Deep and Allenby Bay waiting for the regulations that will see them closed to fishing. Even after the Environment Secretary had made that decision, it was still necessary to fight an attempt to increase the size of the areas closures.
While it is a notable success that campaigning prevented the designation of all five sites - something that was heavily trailed as a fait accompli - it is still a very regrettable result.
Continued on page 34
Photo courtesy of Seafish
Productive ares of the sea have been lost for poorly articulated reasons and without clear and measurable conservation objectives.
This outcome sits very poorly alongside the Fisheries Act and Joint Fishery Statement’s emphasis on evidence-based management and is symptomatic of a failure of joined up management of our seas.
There is an often-repeated misconception that fishermen are opposed to marine conservation. Nothing could be further from the truth. No-one has a greater stake in the continued health of our seas than those whose livelihoods depend on it.
Medical Certificates
By the end of November 2023, all UK fishers must obtain a certificate of medical fitnesseither an ENG1 or an ML5 - to continue working.
This new requirement comes out of the adoption of the ILO Work in Fishing Convention C188. While the original makes it clear that its provisions are only mandatory for vessels over 24m and does not require any particular fitness standard, when it was transposed into UK law no allowance for the particular circumstances of the inshore fleet was made and the standards chosen were the highest possible: well in excess of those applied to other industries.
Photo courtesy of Welsh Fishermen’s Association
Thanks to that gold-plating of the regulations, we are left with the ludicrous situation that an experienced fisher might be judged fit to drive an ambulance, or an HGV, or to work at height; but not to continue in a job at sea that they had pursued safely for decades. These rules will do nothing to make a single fisherman safer at sea.
The NFFO has been advocating tirelessly for these regulations to be reconsidered and at the very least made more proportionate to their underlying aims. We have galvanised support for change in both Houses of Parliament and we understand that it has been discussed at the highest levels of government. A meeting with the Secretary of State for Transport later this month is the latest stage in our attempt to resolve this unnecessary problem before its looming deadline turns it into a crisis.
Risk, Safety and Training
The NFFO’s Risk, Safety and Training lead, Charles Blyth, has continued to approach his role with great energy and determination over the past year. He has achieved notable successes in helping vessel owners and operators to navigate the new Under 15 Metre Code of Practice and has been tireless in promoting safe practice through port visits, an important stability project with Southampton University’s Wolfson Unit, media work and the production of a series of popular videos. He is now engaged in a project to review the design of PFDs, with the intention of devising a new, more fit for purpose design.
Continued on page 36
Photo courtesy of Seafish
Fishing remains an undeniably dangerous profession, but the accident statistics suggest that steady improvements are being made and our sector is increasingly comparable to other maritime industries.
Welfare
After a long period of uncertainty, new rules on visas for foreign crew eventually came into force earlier this year. It is now no longer possible for crew to be employed on a transit visa if they carry out any work at all inside 12 miles. The only route open in that case is to obtain a skilled worker visa, a time consuming and problematic process, requiring a level of written English proficiency that has proved challenging to demonstrate, even for some overseas crew who have worked on British boats for many years and speak English fluently.
The past year has seen the publication in the media of stories about the treatment of some migrant workers aboard UK fishing vessels that are deeply troubling.
We may question the veracity of some of the claims made of our industry, where it is fair and reasonable to do so, but we must never seek to defend the indefensible. If fishermen are being mistreated, mislead, or underpaid, then such abuse must be entirely condemned, no matter where it happens and the perpetrators should face prosecution. A far broader welfare concern than those thankfully rare instances of deliberate
Photo courtesy of Seafish
mistreatment comes from the increasing pressure faced by those working in the fishing industry. With more restrictions on what and how they can fish; more vessel regulations; continually high costs; unfair vilification from outside pressure groups; the strains of a physically demanding and dangerous jobs; and now the need to obtain medical certificates to keep working; concerns about fishers’ mental health are being raised with increasing frequency.
The NFFO has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Seafarer’s Charity, to work together to improve fishermen’s welfare. One of the first steps in that work is a generous contribution by the Seafarer’s Charity towards funding the creation of a new dedicated Welfare Officer post for the NFFO in the year ahead.
NFFO Services / The NFFO Training Trust
The NFFO’s commercial arm remains successful. Its income makes a major contribution to the representative work of the NFFO and it continues to provide valuable opportunities for fishing businesses to diversify. NFFO Services pushes constantly for high standards in on and offshore fisheries liaison, improving safety and reducing friction between offshore development projects and fishers.
Continued on page 38
Photo courtesy of Seafish
The company’s donations to the NFFO Training Trust continue to support the charity’s mission to help with the costs of training and encourage new starters into the industry. 2023 saw the retirement of Trust chairman Bob Casson. His years of service to the fishing industry, through the Trust and previously through his work on the NFFO Executive, have benefitted countless fishermen and their families and it is a privilege to pay tribute to him here.
Conclusion
In the past year, NFFO representatives have argued for the fishing industry on quaysides and in meeting rooms the length and breadth of the country. They have sought to inform the wider public in newspapers, on the radio and on TV. They have put the case for fishing to scientists and administrators; environmentalists and offshore developers. They have advocated for our members in both Houses of Parliament and in 10 Downing Street. There are always new changes and challenges and the NFFO will keep stepping up to meet them.
Photo courtesy of Seafish
THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF FISHERMEN’S ORGANISATIONS
30 Monkgate, York, YO31 7PF
Tel: 01904 635430
Website www.nffo.org.uk
Email: nffo@nffo.org.uk
NFFO Executive Committee
President: P Gilson
Chairman: C Ranford
J Balls T Bartlett N Blazeby R Brewer W Brock
A Brown D Chambers A Delahunty J Evans J Farrell
R Graham R Hards P Haslam J Hatchman A Locker
G Meun H Owen T Owen S Parker B Pool
C Rogers J Sandell E Stevenson P Trebilcock M Youell
Chief Executive
Mike Cohen
Email: Mike.Cohen@nffo.org.uk
Deputy Chief Executive
Mike Roach
Email: Mike.Roach@nffo.org.uk
PA to the Chief Executive/Office Manager
Joanna Lenehan
Email: Joanna@nffo.org.uk
Policy Officer
Elizabeth Bourke
Email: Elizabeth@nffo.org.uk
East Anglia Committee
Chair: D Chambers
North East Committee
Chair: R Brewer
South East Committee
Chair: A Delahunty
Vice Chair: Paul Gilson
Finance & Buildings Officer
Michael Atkin
Email: michael@nffo.org.uk
Direct line: 01904 635428
Risk, Safety & Training Lead
Charles Blyth
Email: Charles@nffo.org.uk
South West Committee
Chair: S Parker
Vice Chair: J Balls
Yorkshire & Humber Committee
Chair: W Jenkinson
Vice Chair: J Sandell
West Coast Committee
Chair: R Graham
Vice Chair: T Owen
INSHORE FISHERIES AND CONSERVATION AUTHORITIES
CORNWALL INSHORE FISHERIES AND CONSERVATION AUTHORITY
Chi Gallos, Hayle Marine Renewables Park, Hayle, Cornwall TR27 4DD
Inchbraoch House, South Quay, Ferryden, Montrose DD10 9SL
Tel: 0131 244 4500
Email: marinescotland@gov.scot
IRELAND
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, ENVIRONMENT AND RURAL AFFAIRS
Marine and Fisheries Division
Rathkeltair House, Market Street, Downpatrick, Co Down BT30 6AJ and 1st floor, Klondyke Building, Cromac Avenue, Belfast, Co Down BT7 2AJ Tel: 028 9056 9262
The line is staffed from 7am until 8pm, Monday to Friday. Outside of these times, the contact centre operates an automated service to allow fishers to leave catch records over the phone.
FISH EXPORT HELPLINE
Fish Export Service Helpline: 0330 159 1989
The helpline is available between 7am and 8pm, Monday to Friday (excluding bank holidays). Outside of these hours, the helpline service will assist on urgent technical issues, such as unexpected FES system outages or unavailability.
MARINE & FISHERIES FUNDS
Email: mff.queries@marinemanagement.org.uk
Main office: 0208 026 5539
MARINE PLANNING
Email: planning@marinemanagement.org.uk
Main office: 0208 0265 325
MARINE LICENSING
Email: marine.consents@marinemanagement.org.uk
Contact: Marine licensing Main office: 0191 376 2791
Fish Hall, North Harbour, North Shore, Whitehaven, Cumbria CA28 7XY
Tel: 0208 026 2554
Email: whitehaven@marinemanagement.org.uk
MARITIME AND COASTGUARD AGENCY
HEAD OFFICE
Spring Place
105 Commercial Road, Southampton SO15 1EG
Email: infoline@mcga.gov.uk
Main switchboard 0203 817 2000
OUT OF HOURS DUTY SURVEYOR
Technical Enquiries +44 (0)7810 528504
Note that this service is for Urgent Technical Enquiries that require action out of office hours only and for enquiries on registration of ships, seafarer’s certification see the list provided here: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/maritime-and-coastguardagency/about/access-and-opening
UK SHIP REGISTER
Customer Services: merchant and bareboat charter registration MCA HQ Spring Place
105 Commercial Road Southampton SO15 1EG
Email: ukshipregister@mcga.gov.uk
Merchant Ships 023 8032 9197
Small Ships
Fishing Vessels
+44(0)29 2044 8813
+44(0)29 2044 8855
Pleasure Vessels +44(0)29 2044 8866
7:30am to 6:00pm, Monday to Friday.
MARITIME AND COASTGUARD AGENCY PRESS OFFICE
Press enquiries 020381 72222 (Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm)
Outside these hours, for emergency press enquiries only please dial the above number. You will hear a message giving an out of hours pager number.
SEAFARER TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION: DECK TRAINING
Email: deck@mcga.gov.uk
SEAFARER TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION: BOATMASTER TRAINING
Email: boatmaster@mcga.gov.uk
SEAFARER TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION: FSE/CEC TRAINING
Email: fse@mcga.gov.uk
SEAFARER TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION: ENGINEERING TRAINING
Email: engineering@mcga.gov.uk
SEAFARER TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION: EXAMS SECTION
Email: exams@mcga.gov.uk
SEAFARER TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION: REVALIDATION TEAM
Email: revalidation@mcga.gov.uk
SEAFARER TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION: SAFEMANNING TEAM
Email: safemanning@mcga.gov.uk
SEAFARER TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION: SMART TEAM
Email: smart@mcga.gov.uk
SEAFARER TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION: STC COURSES
Email: stc.courses@mcga.gov.uk
HM COASTGUARD AND SEARCH AND RESCUE HEADQUARTERS
Administrative enquires for Search and Rescue matters only: HM Coastguard Operations Bay 2/06, Spring Place 105 Commercial Road, Southampton Hampshire SO15 1EG
In an emergency in the UK, dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard. If you are at sea, use GMDSS systems to make a distress or urgency alert: Emergency Contact - Dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard
The email address above must not be used to pass operational SAR information. These contact details are for office hours only. Please scroll down for contact information for the Coastguard Operation Centres.
VOLUNTEER COASTGUARD RESCUE SERVICE
Email: crsenquiries@mcga.gov.uk
DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF MARITIME OPERATIONS
Email: sar.response@mcga.gov.uk
UK SEARCH AND RESCUE COMMITTEE: MRS NAOMI DAVIES
Email: naomi.Davies@mcga.gov.uk
SEARCH AND RESCUE OPERATIONS SPECIALIST: MR ROLY MCKIE
