No Brexit guarantees for Scots fishermen

Sir, - In his letter last week, Bob Stark wrote about “the huge opportunities for Scottish fishing communities after Brexit... taking back control of our waters”.

Well, despite the promise from the UK fisheries minister, George Eustice, that British fishermen would have “hundreds of thousands of tonnes more fish when the UK leaves the union” this promise, like most Brexit promises, is unlikely to materialise.

The Danish government is currently preparing a legal case to go before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, claiming that their fishermen have a historical right to access the seas around Britain dating back to the 1400s, and it is likely that the other EU member states which would be affected will follow suit.

The Danes are very confident in their case, and, given that the UK Government has now antagonised every member country of the EU by its boorish approach to Brexit, and the hard negotiations have not even started yet, it is unlikely that there will be any sympathy for the UK case.

Once the detailed negotiations do start, and the horse trading of competing interests begins, is it likely that a hard-right Tory government is going to put the prosperity of Scottish fishermen high up in their priorities against the need to protect the City of London, the English car industry, and their rich backers in the south east? I think not.

The best hope for the Scottish fishing industry, I would suggest, would be an independent Scotland, on good terms with its European neighbours, and a Scottish Government fighting tooth and nail for a key part of Scotland’s economic future.

Les Mackay. 5 Carmichael Gardens, Dundee.

Picture: Press Association. A Scottish fishing boat leaves port for the North Sea fishing grounds.