Compensation extented for 'Cod Wars' fishermen

Trawlermen who fished off Iceland during the 'Cod Wars' in the mid-1970s may be eligible for further compensation, Trade and Industry Minister Nigel Griffiths announced today.

The scheme, which originally opened in October 2000 and ran for two years, is being amended to include vessels that fished in areas within Icelandic waters as defined in the scheme but where proof of this was not available because they were traditionally recorded as Faroes vessels – these areas are principally Rosengarten and Working Man's Bank. Around £42 million has already been paid to over 4,700 applicants to the original scheme.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, following the government's agreement in 1976 to recognise a 200-mile fishing limit around Iceland in order to resolve the third of the "Cod Wars", almost all remaining distant water trawlermen in the UK were made redundant.

The nature of employment arrangements in the fishing industry precluded normal redundancy or social security benefits at the time, as the former trawlermen were regarded as "casuals".

Announcing the changes, Nigel Griffiths said: "The trawlermen's scheme was set up to target payments at those workers who were most likely to have lost their livelihoods as a result of the Cod War settlement.

"I've considered the case made by trawlermen concerning vessels that were previously excluded from the list of valid vessels due to the lack of evidence available and l have decided that the scheme should be extended to include them."

Decisions on which vessels are added to the list will be taken by the Department based on the strict criteria, and the deadline for written submissions to the department is 19 December 2003.

A help line number for enquiries about the scheme has been set up on 01923 655100.

(gmcg)