Urgent fishing debate in Scottish Parliament tomorrow (Wed 30 April)

Motion asks SNP Government to drop its support for EU Common Fisheries Policy and to ensure the UK government does not sell out our fishermen

Attribution: Reinhold Möller Creative Commons licence

In the Scottish Parliament in Holyrood tomorrow a motion is being brought which certainly concerns the UK Fisheries Campaign.  Whilst the motion addresses devolved fishing in Scotland, the points it makes apply equally across the UK. 

It addresses fishing and the imminent danger of a deal being done in principle by Sir Keir Starmer in the lead up to his ‘reset’ summit with the EU on 19 May.  According to rumours from several sources, this would guarantee that the current fishing deal between the UK and the EU that has existed for almost five years and is soon up for renewal would remain broadly intact.

The large EU fishing fleet would then continue to have access to UK waters from the UK’s 200 mile Economic Exclusion Zone limit right up to 12 miles from our shores – and up to six miles for some boats.

The motion is being proposed by Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands Region and the Conservatives’ Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Fishing.  The motion reads as follows.

Protecting Scotland’s Fishing Industry

• “That the Parliament expresses its deep concern at reports that the UK Government Labour administration may agree a deal with the EU that enhances access for EU fishing vessels to UK waters;
• understands that the reported deal could result in a multi-year access guarantee as opposed to annual negotiations between the UK and the EU;
• believes that Scotland’s domestic fishing industry is a significant contributor to the economy and that every effort should be made to support it during trade negotiations;
• notes that the existing fisheries deal between the EU and the UK is not perfect, but that it took the sector out of the Common Fisheries Policy;
• acknowledges that the UK Labour administration’s potential new deal would turn a good opportunity to build on this foundation into a missed opportunity that represents a backwards step for the sector as bad as the Common Fisheries Policy;
• calls on the Scottish Government to drop its support for the Common Fisheries Policy and do all that it can to ensure that the UK Labour administration does not sell out the Scottish fishing industry as part of its talks with the EU, and believes that there should be an annual debate on fisheries to highlight its importance to Scotland’s economy.”

The UK Fisheries Campaign (UKFC) invited Mr Eagle to explain further and he told us exclusively:

“It is well-known and accepted by the majority of people that the current arrangements between the EU and the UK as a result of the fisheries section of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement require a great deal of improvement and that our fishermen are deeply unhappy about a great many aspects of it. It can at least be said that the exisiting arrangement did at least take us out of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy but there remains considerable room for improvement.

“As your UKFC Campaign has highlighted so successfully, there is an opportunity arising very soon because the current arrangements with the EU terminate in just over a year’s time. This means negotiations starting imminently, as they have a habit of lasting a very long time before agreement is reached.

“Now, however, we have an even more urgent problem.  As the UK Fisheries Campaign has also made clear, it seems Brussels require some form of commitment from the Labour Prime Minister at a summit in three weeks’ time for maintaining or improving the status quo for them – the EU – or they will not do a deal with him on other matters such as a defence pact.

“My motion sets out to recognise the importance of fishing to the Scottish economy and to highlight the need to significantly improve the situation for our fishermen. It also invites the Scottish Government to drop its support for the Common Fisheries Policy [CFP] and at the same time to defend Scottish fishing from being used as a bargaining chip to be tossed overboard by Sir Keir Starmer in order for him to achieve his other objectives with the EU.

“Either the Scottish Government stands with our fishermen or they don’t. They should finally denounce the CFP and at the same time call on the Prime Minister not to give an inch on fishing at the PM’s May summit. If tomorrow they do neither of these things, then I think we know what most people’s verdict will be.

“Whatever the outcome tomorrow, I confirm that we will continue to support the UK Fisheries Campaign and the fight will go on.”