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CHAPTER SIX: MAINTAINING OUR SKILLS
Issues
In order for the fishing industry and wider communities to have a sustainable and profitable future, we are clear that new blood needs to be attracted into the industry. The fishing industry must compete with other industries for access to skilled labour. However, due to the challenging working conditions and significant barriers to entry that now exist the industry should work with the Scottish Government to encourage new entrants. Channels to encourage crew and skippers to progress through the industry already exit ( e.g. in partnership with vessel agents/fish salesmen, POs). Measures to reinvigorate the fleet, should in particular be explored with these businesses and organisations that already play a pivotal role in introducing new skippers to the fleet.
Further work is required. What is clear is that quota and licensing have a pivotal role to play. We would like to consider, in discussion with Scottish stakeholders, the merits of establishing a national quota reserve.
A number of issues present themselves in considering proposals for a new entrants scheme and a national quota reserve:
- What format should a new entrant's scheme take?
- Who would run it?
- How and where would it be run?
- How and from where would quota be acquired for a national reserve?
- How would quota so acquired be calculated and distributed?
- How would beneficiaries of such quota be determined?
- What, if any, conditions would be attached to such quota once distributed?
Proposals
We propose to establish a Scottish stakeholder-working group. It is envisaged that this group will first meet towards the end of 2008, with a remit to explore and make proposals for a new entrants scheme, with a particular emphasis on quota and licensing policy.
Q13. Do you support our proposals to tackle the issue of how best to encourage new blood into the fishing industry?
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