You may be interested to note that on 29 April, the Scottish Government published a report ‘Europe 2020: Scottish National Reform Programme 2013’ which sets out the actions that are being taken forward across Scotland to support the delivery of the ambitions set out in Europe 2020 – the European Union’s strategy for delivering smart, [...]
Thirty-eight members of the European Parliament from 18 member states, including four UK MEPS, have called for each EU government to play a ‘constructive role’ in fisheries reform. In a statement released on April 30th 2013, the MEPs warned that if a minority blocked the reforms ahead of the May 2 meeting, when the Irish [...]
Attempts to derail the discard ban continue. The Commission estimates that 23% of catches are now discarded, but other sources say the figure is as high as 40%. The biggest area of dispute is when the ban on discards of unwanted catches should begin. The Council is split geographically on the issue. Northern European states [...]
The timeline for a consultation on a Draft National Marine Plan and implementation of a National Marine Plan has been revised, taking account of UK and Scottish Ministerial processes and resources available. The consultation is expected in summer 2013, leading to implementation of the Plan by the end of 2014. The Marine (Scotland) Act provides [...]
At the recent awards dinner of the Irish Specimen Fish Committee (ISFC) successful anglers from all over Ireland were congratulated by Fergus O’Dowd TD, Minister of State for Natural Resources, on their excellent achievements. In his speech the Minister said: “The Government recognises that angling is hugely important to the tourist industry and to the [...]