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Ombudsman Nikiforos Diamandouros blamed the EC for not acknowledging an 'administrative error' when it ought to have. (Photo: EC/CFA)
Scottish fishers win claim against EC
UNITED KINGDOM
Friday, February 05, 2010, 21:30 (GMT + 9)
Prawn fishermen on Scotland's west coast were celebrating Thursday after winning a suit against the European Commission (EC).
The European Ombudsman has ruled that a bureaucratic blunder in Brussels had robbed them of the right to fish for almost 30 days in 2007.
The restriction, imposed on members of the Clyde Fishermen's Association (CFA), should have applied to fishermen operating in the North Sea.
In his ruling, the ombudsman, Nikiforos Diamandouros, said an "administrative error" had been made concerning fishing quotas in the west of Scotland, Scotsman reports. The commission had wrongly swapped the data in the columns for the west of Scotland and the North Sea.
And he concludes: "By failing to acknowledge that it committed an administrative error, the commission has missed a good opportunity to acknowledge an instance of maladministration."
Patrick Stewart, who recently retired as secretary of the CFA, pursued the case on behalf of west coast skippers.
He said: "During this dispute, the EC went to inordinate lengths to proclaim, in spite of the compelling evidence to the contrary, that not only could it not have made a mistake, but that the Clyde Fishermen's Association had entirely misdirected itself as to how these complex matters were arranged.
"But despite these constant denials, the CFA did not give up. The Ombudsman has now demonstrated that the commission was wrong. The fact that the commission felt unable to apologise and admit it made a mistake shows an astonishing lack of maturity and calls into question its suitability as an organisation to manage fisheries objectively."
A spokesman for the association said: "Fortunately, the extra cut in days for the west coast in 2007 never actually materialised, due to the mitigating impact of a number of complex fisheries management measures implemented in that year."
By Denise Recalde
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com
Photo Courtesy of FIS Member  European Commission - Fisheries and Maritime Affairs
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