Fishermen tell SNP: don’t sell us down the river over Brexit talks
FISHING leaders have attacked Scottish ministers’ ‘intransigent stance’ over Brexit, warning that it could damage negotiations over a post-EU fisheries policy.
They met Rural Secretary Fergus Ewing yesterday to spell out demands for Scottish fishermen to sit ‘at our own top table’ in order to secure ‘far more’ of the catch in future talks.
Following the meeting, Mr Ewing pledged to work for the ‘best deal’ he could, despite acknowledging many in the industry have a ‘different perspective’ to him on leaving the European Union.
Many fishermen are hostile to Europe, with a poll before the referendum suggesting that as many as 92 per cent would vote Leave. And last night, Mike Park, chief executive of the Scottish White Fish Producers Association, said it was clear Scottish fishermen no longer wanted the EU to negotiate fishing rights on its behalf with Norway, the Faroes and Iceland.
Mr Park said: ‘It will be the UK government that will negotiate us out of Europe and we will have to get in touch with them to make sure we get what we want from our departure. We want to create our own top table with our negotiators there, backed up by fishermen, negotiating with the other main fisheries nations.
‘That’s the rightful place for the Scottish and the UK fishing industry. We will have to see what approach the Scottish Government takes over this. If it doesn’t feel within itself to deliver, then it will have the Scottish fishing industry to answer to.
‘We do not think it is fitting currently for the Scottish Government to take an intransigent stance saying, “We have no intention of coming out [of Europe]” when we know full well it’s going to happen.
‘There’s a requirement on ministers to sit down with the fishing industry and map out what will be required. Anything else would be seen as negligent. I would like to think our own Scottish Government would not sell us down the river.’
Mr Park said Scottish fishermen had lobbied to come out of Europe for 33 years, adding: ‘Now that the opportunity has arisen we have no intentions of giving up on this.’
He said the SWFPA hoped to produce a draft paper on its priorities before the two sides produced an ‘agreed statement’ on the future of the industry.
Mr Ewing said later that talks would continue over the minimum two-year period needed for Brexit negotiations and, until then, he would carry on with the ‘day job’ of representing the Scottish fishing fleet. He acknowledged there was ‘substantial support for leave’ among fishermen but pointed out that he also represented the onshore processing sector, ‘where many of the workforce are not originally from Scotland’ and which exports around £500million of goods to the EU.
Tom Harris, who led the Scottish Leave campaign, condemned Mr Ewing’s stance on Brexit as ‘an embarrassment verging on a betrayal’, adding: ‘So much for putting Scotland first.’
Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, who also attended the talks, said he had stressed to the Minister his members’ ‘unanimous view’ of the ‘real and positive opportunities that leaving the EU would bring to our fishing communities’.