The Manx fishing stock is being decimated through overfishing by foreign boats, fishermen say.
The Manx Fish Producers’ Organisation and Manx Basking Shark Watch both say action must be taken urgently.
The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA) has launched a consultation document ‘Inshore Marine Zonation’ about the issue.
DEFA Minister Richard Ronan MHK said: ‘One of the methods of balancing the needs of users is via a zoning plan which ensures separation of activities, where suitable.’
MFPO’s Dave Beard said in the last five years there has been a ‘huge increase’ in the number of foreign boats fishing in our seas largely because of ‘controls elsewhere and UK boats moving from other fisheries’.
‘Our fishermen fish to an economic level and then stop (to allow stock to recover), unfortunately UK boats do not follow that process, Manx boats leave areas, but then other UK boats come in.’
He said in 2009, of the 65 fishing boats working in our seas, 27 were Manx and 38 were from the UK.
This year 28 of the boats are Manx and a staggering 115 are from the UK. At the start of the scallop season, on November 1, an area off Peel was hammered by overfishing.
‘Everyone knows it was a very good fishery of catching size,’ he said. ‘There were 88 boats in a three-mile area over one weekend. It was a race to fish and the vast majority were from the UK, just 27 per cent of stock was processed in the Isle of Man, you would not allow that to happen on land.’
Manx boats are also disadvantaged because UK boats benefit from EU grants.
‘We are often out performed by bigger boats with bigger engines,’ he said. ‘There is a EU fund of £200m for fisheries development, we do not have access to that. We have an ageing fleet which is under invested.’
The Manx economy also loses out. He said: ‘UK processors this season had chilled containers at our ports waiting to load up scallops from the many UK boats. Once full the container would be shipped away to the UK and so none of the landings taken in this way went through Isle of Man processors and so the full value of the catch was lost to the island’s economy.’
He added: ‘The financial position for fishermen is hard. They are wondering if they can survive which is why this (control initiative) is so important. If it is controlled and you get everybody to sign up to a contract with certain conditions potters, anglers, divers, fishermen - everyone benefits.’
The DEFA is proposing three options.
One: No mobile fishing gear in the 0 to 1 mile zone and to issue licences (for fishing boats) in the one to three mile area.
Two: Allowing mobile gear to be used in specific zones in the 0 to 1 mile area and generally in the 1 to 3 mile area.
Three: Retain the status quo.
Dr Beard said the MFPO supported the second option. Safety concerns in bad weather preclude support of option one, which would involve fishing further off shore.
He added for it to be effective, any control must be a blend of ‘zones, effort and management at the same time’.
Licences for scallop fishing should be issued ‘based on track record not opportunity.’
MBSW’s Graham Hall said: ‘Something needs to be done and now. We cannot expect fishermen to give up fishing. There’s a real issue with what is 75 per cent of the Isle of Man. There is a huge problem with boats coming in.
‘The whole management of the area needs to be looked at. It’s really important to get the people of the Isle of Man to take part (in the consultation) otherwise we will lose something important. It’s just the silvery sea out there, if it was on land you could see what happens. (Manx) fishermen are very capable of managing this problem, they will do it responsibly because it’s their livelihood.’
The consultation closes on May 19.