The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation today accused an anti-fishing group of creating fake news about the sector in a new report designed to disrupt annual negotiations on fisheries quota for 2025.
The eNGO Oceana has released a wholly misleading report into UK fisheries and the SFF have slammed it as flawed and fake news.
Chief executive Elspeth Macdonald said Oceana was wasting everyone’s time with a series of cherry-picked statements, reliance on obsolete science and creative wording to perpetuate a narrative of gloom and doom about fisheries that bears little relation to reality.
“Who funds Oceana? Who does this group represent? What gives it the right to try to influence policy and fisheries negotiations that will be critical for the livelihoods of our members next year and in the years ahead, with such a farrago of nonsense?
“If they are going to take issue with the sector, eNGOs should save themselves from embarrassment by getting their facts and analysis right.
“Oceana is wasting everyone’s time with fake news when consumers know that over 70% of Scotland’s commercially-caught species are sustainable, that fish has the lowest carbon footprint of almost any food and that industry has the clearest vested interest in being responsible custodians of our stocks.
“The SFF will continue to concentrate its efforts on co-operating with governments to implement practicable and reasonable policies and management measures instead of fantasies dreamt up in corporate boardrooms by people who have never been on a fishing boat in their lives.”
The Ocean report can be read here: https://uk.oceana.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2023/09/Oceana-TakingStockReport2023-web.pdf
