Executive slammed as "pathetic" as threat
to fishermen continues
(From The Orcadian dated September 7, 2000)

The secretary of Orkney’s fisheries association has hit out at Scottish Ministers after being met with “the usual platitudes” at a meeting to discuss the plight of fishermen banned from fishing scallops.

Mr Alan Coghill said fishermen needed a “quick fix”, but gave little hope for a speedy resolution to the crisis facing the scallop industry as a result of the current bans caused by Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP) and Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) toxins.

Following a meeting with Scottish Health Minister, Ms Susan Deacon, and Fisheries Minister, Mr John Home Robertson, at the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday afternoon, he said: “We were met with the usual platitudes from the Ministers, but there was no offer of compensation and no likelihood of a decommissioning scheme which give immediate help. Their timescales are far too long term, when fishermen are already in desperate straits. They need a quick fix.

“On other means of testing scallops, it seemed as though Ministers were faint-hearted in their willingness to do anything about it, suggesting that there were 14 other countries in Europe which would have to consider any change. I did push for some relaxation of the toxin ban in parts of Orkney where readings were coming down, and I got an assurance from Mr Jeff Moon, who now works at the Food Standards Agency in Aberdeen, and formerly was principal environmental services officer with OIC, that he would look into that. So I’m kind of hopeful on that front.

“I also asked about the research that had been carried out into the causes of these algal blooms and their spread, and was told that a lot of information on toxin poisoning had appeared in the British Medical Journal but it would have helped if fishermen had seen some of that or been consulted on it.”

Mr Coghill said that he had been “quite brusque” from the outset of Tuesday’s meeting with Scottish Ministers and officials because of the urgency of the situation.

He added: “I didn’t feel there was much hope offered to the industry. Ministers kept mentioning that public health was of paramount importance in this, but there have been no deaths from these toxins in Scotland, unlike BSE which it’s being compared with, which I feel is unfair. Ministers said that they could put procedures in place to change the method of testing scallops, which would not be difficult for fishermen to comply with, but it seemed to cause officials palpitations to consider any change. The Food Standards Agency do expect to experiment with end-product testing of scallops within a month, but why couldn’t they do it now?”

Mr Coghill concluded: “The way that this whole thing has been handled by the Scottish Executive and the Food Standards Agency is really pathetic, and their ability to give information is also pathetic.

I haven’t had a reply to either of two letters sent in the last two months. Following this week’s meeting, I will be writing again to the Food Standards Agency; the Scottish Fisheries Minister and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, who I am led to believe could come up with an interim scheme of assistance. I must keep up the pressure on behalf of the scallop fishermen and the processors because it is an important part of our industry.”