Sea Fisheries and End-year Negotiations

Part of the debate – in the Scottish Parliament at on 7 December 2016.

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Photo of Emma Harper Emma Harper Scottish National Party

I will buy him a beer later.

It is vital that we reject any attempts to undermine the sector in Scotland over the next few years of important negotiations with the EU, so I am pleased to hear that the cabinet secretary is pressing Ms Leadsom on the issue. However, I am less heartened to see that, in recent correspondence, George Eustice MP, the Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, reaffirmed his intention to work with the Scottish Government throughout the negotiations only on the condition that we

“strive for a fair deal that benefits the UK as a whole”.

I think that he could have said “a deal that benefits the UK and Scotland as a whole.” His language does not give me hope that Westminster is any closer to acknowledging Scottish fishermen’s disproportionate contribution to the UK-wide sector.

The EU represents the largest food export market for Scottish fish and seafood, with Scotland having exported fish and seafood worth more than £438 million to EU countries last year. That represents nearly two thirds of our food exports, which shows that the fishing industry and ease of market access are of huge importance to Scotland.

As with the farming sector, one of the crucial issues in relation to our exit from the EU is protection of the right of EU nationals to continue to live and work here. Those individuals make up a large proportion of the workforce in the processing sector; if we were to lose part of our processing capacity in Scotland because of labour shortages, we would lose landings, exports and revenue and jeopardise hundreds of jobs.

Of course, a raw deal for Scotland’s fishermen will have a domino effect across all sectors that are key to the rural economy. For example, in my region, where the food and drink sector is so important to the livelihood of many people, we have renowned seafood restaurants. Scotland’s seafood sector is one of our greatest strengths, and it has built its reputation on a product that is renowned the world over for its pristine quality.

Scotland is strategically placed to have the best fishing industry in Europe—