Orkney SNP candidate Robert Leslie is urging the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs Mairi Gougeon to take action on the destructive practices of scallop dredgers around Orkney, which are posing a major threat to the continued existence of the local scallop diving industry.
Mr Leslie has written to Ms Gougeon after hearing Gina Brown, who operates the Murray Arms Hotel and Seafood Restaurant in St Margaret’s Hope, describe of how dredgers in Orkney are ‘ripping the place to bits’.
Ms Brown, whose family has been involved in scallop diving for many years, was speaking at a fringe event at the SNP conference in Aberdeen, where the economic case for low-impact fishing in Scotland was being discussed.
At a similar recent meeting in Edinburgh earlier the same week, Ms Brown was accompanied by Orkney scallop dive operator Nick Nourse.
Ms Brown told the Aberdeen meeting:
“They have trashed the summer grounds and are into our winter grounds now.”
Ms Brown said that her family had two boats and 12 divers, and that there were six boats and around 30 divers in Orkney in total. A seventh boat has dropped out of operating earlier in the year.
The futures of the remaining boats are now under threat due to the activities of the dredgers, she said.
“They don’t care about the environment because they are nomadic. The divers live in and care about Orkney. They spend their money there.”
Ms Brown said that the issue had brought all the Orkney divers together for the first time due to the concerns over the dredger activities.
It appeared during discussion at the event that previous dredging activities had been able to co-exist with divers by staying out of their grounds, but this was no longer the case, with regulation – although not universally favoured – potentially the only solution.
“It is not going to end well if nothing changes,” she said.
“It is not outwith the law, but they are definitely rubbing our noses in it. They never land in Orkney so they don’t care.”
The event was hosted by Open Seas, an organisation that advocates for sustainable fisheries and healthy seas, along with the Scottish Creel Fishermen’s Federation.
Anna Safryghin, research manager for Open Seas, said that this was not a situation unique to Orkney, and studies in Argyll had shown that tracing money from where shellfish were caught showed that creeling kept more money in the local economy than trawling. She said the picture would be similar for diving versus dredging, with dredged catches often landed outwith the catch area and crews not living in the area where they were operating.
Anna said that there was an environmental as well as an economic argument for change and protection.
There was a suggestion from Shetlanders in the audience that Orkney should look north to Shetland for how to manage fisheries more effectively. Although the system might not be perfect, at least there was one.
Following the meeting, Mr Leslie said that he recognised that Orkney was a very diverse fishery, with lots of family businesses seeking to make a living from the waters around the islands.
“There should be a place for everybody when it comes to fishing Orkney’s waters. I am keen to help in any way to find a sustainable solution to the issue and that is why I have written to Mairi Gougeon this week asking for urgent Scottish Government action to protect the dive areas,” he said
A copy of Robert Leslie’s letter to Mairi Gougeon can be viewed here:
Leave a Reply