APPENDIX IV APPENDIX IV 
UNITED KINGDOM 
PRESENT SITUATION AND TRENDS IN 
THE UNITED KINGDOM'S FISHING INDUSTRY 
Overfishing and increased quota restrictions have caused 
the fish catch from distant water fishing grounds to decline 
in the 1970s. However, there was a compensatory rise in the 
fish catch from the North Sea due to increased efforts nearer 
the United Kingdom. For example, some freezer trawler owners 
have started to fish for herring off the west coast of Scot- 
land. International discussions on fishing limits and the 
introduction of quota schemes for the Northeast Atlantic 
make the future unclear, but there seems little doubt that the 
distant water catch will continue to decline, causing the 
total United Kingdom whitefish catch to decrease. 
The British United Trawlers Association, the most power- 
ful producer in the United Kingdom, identified the following 
threats to the United Kingdom fisheries industry: 
--The possible total loss of the distant water catch. 
--Overfishing by other nations within the United King- 
dom's proposed exclusive economic zone but outside 
their present limits. Talk of non-enforced 200-mile 
limits increases this threat. 
--Shrinkage of present United Kingdom fishing re- 
sources (vessels, manpower, processing capacity) and 
lack of new investments due to the government's 
weak fishing policy. 
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--Declining profits stemming from the inadequacy of | 
quota agreements to prevent overfishing. 
--Increasing reliance on imports, rendering the United 
Kingdom more vulnerable to changes in world markets; 
for example, the recession in the United States and 
change to Alaskan pollock increased pressure of 
Norwegian cod on the United Kingdom market. 
--The continuing high rate of inflation and increases | 
in oil prices. | 
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