Fishermen fearful for future

POLLACK RESTRICTIONS PROVE DEVASTATING FOR CITY BOATS

- KATIE OBORN

A PLYMOUTH fisherman is one of many being hit by tough new quota rules for pollack which were agreed by the UK Government and the European Union late last year.

James Strevens said 70% of his income had been ‘taken away’ since the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) made changes which saw the pollack catch quota effectively set at zero from the start of 2024 to preserve stocks.

Defra has said it is working to ‘explore potential mitigations’, adding that the quota was lowered following advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).

The stock of pollack in the English Channel is shared between the EU and the UK. In 2022, the quota for the UK was 1,821 tonnes, and in 2023 it was 1,506 tonnes, the BBC reported last month.

Fishing boat crews say there are not sufficient opportunities for them to replace this lost income with other catches at this time of year, leaving them facing an uncertain start to the year.

James, 36, said: “I’m stressed. I’ve got a young family and a mortgage to pay. It’s seriously hard times and really worrying. I’ve already dug deep into my savings, I don’t know where it will go from here, I haven’t been out fishing for six weeks.

“I really rely on pollack, for over ten years it’s made up most of my earnings. The ban has all but made me redundant. I feel like I’ve been pushed backwards from what is probably the most sustainable fishing there is. I’ve been forced to put net haulers and anchors all over the boat as there’s no other option now.