The industry has shrunk in recent years and an over-abundance of octopus has been blamed for a sharp decline in crabs and lobsters.
The association’s vice-president Dougal Lane had said he had hoped to hold an emergency meeting of the association last month. It would have been the first since its last chairman, Barry Paint, a former States deputy, died in July 2022.
However he said that after making enquiries with members he had not gone ahead due to a lack of interest.
‘The older ones who might have come along are talking about decommissioning and the younger ones aren’t interested,’ he said.
‘There had been some talk that Economic Development would have funding for decommissioning, like they have in the EU and UK.’
Earlier this year Economic Development president Neil Inder told the States that he had heard little from the fishing industry over the past four years, and that he was unable to address ‘significant’ problems in the industry until fishermen were organised enough ‘to walk through his door’ and begin talks.
A spokesman for the committee said it had not considered and did not envisage introducing a grant scheme for local decommissioning of fishing vessels.
‘Decommissioning schemes have not operated in the UK for many years,’ he said. ‘And do not necessarily secure long-term outcomes in relation to the sustainable management of fisheries resources.’
Mr Lane said he believed a number of the younger members of the fishing fleet were now adapting fishing gear to target octopus, but that many of the older boatowners, including himself, were too old to put the work in to make this viable.
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