Western Isles to Western Sahara?
By Colin MacKinnon
BBC Scotland Eòrpa re****ter
The crew of a Western Isles trawler will decide in the next few weeks
whether to return to the northwest coast of Africa to fish.
They spent a trial period sailing out of the ****t of Dhakla in southern
Morocco late last year because their EU fi****ng quota was too small.
Angus Macleod, from Barra, explained why they might travel back the 1,500
nautical miles in the spring.
He told BBC Scotland: "Nobody wants to leave home but it's just not viable
for us to continue, with the quota we have in the UK. I can't see that we
can afford not to come back. The door's open, it's viable. We hope we can
improve on what we've learned and be better next time round."
The 60m "Prowess" is one of more than a hundred European trawlers that
have
taken advantage of a recently renewed [2007] agreement between the EU and
Morocco which allows foreign boats to fish in Western Sahara waters.
Red tape battle
It was not all plain sailing for the crew when they spent a month catching
sardines there last November, according to skipper John Archie Macleod.
He said: "The biggest obstacle is because we're fi****ng outside the
15-mile
zone we're classed as foreign, and the fish we catch is classed as foreign
fish, so it's a customs problem - we have to pay customs duty on the
im****t.
"It's the same for the processing factories when it comes to ex****ting the
fish."
Another Scottish boat, the Peterhead based "Krossfjord", has remained in
West Africa over the New Year.
Its crew has also battled with bureaucracy, but skipper George Nicol is
bypassing much of it by using a processing plant he has bought and runs
independently in Dhakla.
Mr Nicol said: "We have invested with Moroccan people locally, to sell on
the fish that we're catching. It's been very difficult - we've met
opposition from all quarters."
The Scots have sailed into political controversy in the region known as
Western Sahara.
It's been a disputed territory since the mid-70s when Morocco annexed it
after Spain relinquished colonial power.
International law
Some politicians, like SNP MEP Ian Hudghton, are opposed to the EU fi****ng
agreement with Morocco, although he can understand why the Scots
trawlermen
are taking advantage when their quotas have been cut in recent years.
"It's not the fault of fishermen that we're in this situation," he said.
"I think that the politicians have let down Western Sahara, and have
implemented here an agreement that breaches what should have been
preserved
in terms of international law and the right of people to expect sup****t
when
they're invaded or taken over by neighbours or whoever."
The Moroccan Government disagrees. It maintains its right to govern over
Western Sahara and believes the EU agreement benefits the region.
Dhakla spokesman Noureddine Aissaoui said: "It is Moroccan land. We work
here in our country in peace and in security.
"You must have noticed all the investment and construction projects that
have been ongoing for years; Morocco is developing its territory.
"Today, this is an op****tunity for the whole world to be part of the plan
to
develop this region."
It has not been easy so far for the Scots who have tested the water of
Western Sahara, but they hope this op****tunity will be the answer to their
difficulty with restricted EU quotas at home. Oh, and the weather's better
too, as they've discovered.
This issue is featured in Eòrpa on BBC Two Scotland at 1930 GMT on
Thursday,
17 January.
________________________________________________________
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7192405.stm
________________________________________________________
Forwarded by:
Norwegian Sup****t Committee for Western Sahara
*** Referendum now! ***
www.vest-sahara.no
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/
Sahara-update
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