A multi-million pound scheme to diversify the economies of fishing communities has been "a very useful tool" for the Highlands and Islands, an international gathering in Inverness heard today (Friday 26 January).

Sandy Cumming, chief executive of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), told delegates at the fourth annual PESCA thematic conference in Eden Court Theatre that, by the time all projects are completed, it will have generated up to £8.7 million of investment into fishing-dependent communities across the HIE area.

This sum includes £3.2 million of direct programme funding, an equal amount in other EU funds and a further £2.3 million of private investment.

PESCA, described by Mr Cumming as "a limited experiment", has assisted 232 projects in communities from Kintyre to Shetland, committing one hundred per cent of its available EU funding to create alternative employment opportunities.

Mr Cumming, who chaired the local PESCA group for Wester Ross while serving as chief executive of Ross and Cromarty Enterprise in the 1990s, expressed some sympathy for critics of the scheme's complex rules and procedures, which were particularly onerous for applicants with small projects. He expressed confidence, however, that the programme had largely achieved what it set out to do.

"Projects are still active," Mr Cumming noted. "Once they are completed, PESCA will be fully evaluated and we will be able to assess its impact with an eye to the future. We feel that PESCA was a very useful tool in the effort to help fisheries communities."

He believed that some coastal communities would always be dependent on fishing. While diversifying the economy was essential, it could not be the answer to every challenge, especially in remote and fragile areas.

He also sounded a warning that traditional fishing skills, if lost, would be very difficult to replace.

"Economic diversification is HIE's principal task and it is our clear duty to help the fisheries-dependent areas to the best of our ability," Mr Cumming continued. "There is no question that many parts of rural Scotland face challenges which are as severe as those of our urban industrial areas. I believe the key to the rural economy is strength in diversity.

"There are still major challenges that face us when it comes to helping fishing dependent communities. At the last review of the Common Fisheries Policy, we argued to the European Commission that some fishing communities were fisheries dependent on a permanent basis. The implications of the current crisis in capture fisheries for these communities are serious."

"We value the heritage and skills of fisheries people. If they are lost, the tradition is broken. We should diversify wherever we can, but, most importantly, a political way needs to be found to secure access to local fisheries for the people of the most vulnerable communities. Secure access and sustainability are the watchwords - sustainability embracing not only environmental factors, but also economic and community ones."