Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal can help rebuild the Scottish fishing industry
The new system can be made to work for the benefit of all if the will exists, writes Douglas Ross
December 2019 was little over a year ago yet, with everything that has happened, it may as well be a lifetime ago. However, in the General Election held that month, the Conservative manifesto pledged we would deliver a “post-brexit deal for Scottish fishing”.
I treat that promise very seriously. The Moray constituency that has been my home for my whole life and which I now represent contains many fishing towns and villages along its shoreline. It is also home to numerous fish processors, like Cluny Fish and Associated Seafoods.
For me, therefore, the future of our fisheries is deeply personal. I know the communities that fishing supports are among the poorest in our country. I know many of them voted for Brexit in the hope it would lead to a resurgence in our fishing industry and the economies of coastal communities. I know many voted Conservative at the last election on the promise of that better deal for Scottish fishing.
What has been delivered so far doesn’t represent a better deal to many of them. Since the end of the transition period, we have seen four weeks of delay to exports headed to customers on the continent. Instead of produce being able to reach markets the day after it is caught, we are seeing exporting taking up to three days. Premium produce is losing its value, or even being dumped, as it is held for hours at Larkhall for certification checks, with lorries having to be unloaded and reloaded.
This situation is not good enough. This excessive government bureaucracy is crippling for a sector built around delivering fresh produce to customers as quickly as possible.
Over the past week, I have been speaking to representatives from both catching and processing businesses and the clear message I have received is that significant parts of the industry do not have a future unless there is a quick resolution to this issue.
They cannot wait five more months for businesses on the continent to experience the same problems that seafood exporters in the UK are struggling with now.
There are real concerns that, far from this being a temporary issue, it may be the new normal for sending produce to European markets and this will lead to buyers looking elsewhere.
I have been pushing both of Scotland’s governments to deliver a resolution to the industry’s problems throughout this month.
I welcomed the £23 million compensation scheme announced by the UK Government to cover the losses faced by our fisheries during the worst of the delays at the start of January.
However, I also recognise this compensation can only be a sticking plaster unless we can fix the fundamental issues of the delays themselves.
While I have heard some encouraging news that certain problems are being smoothed over, there are still many more outstanding.
That is why I have written to the Environment Secretary to call for the creation of a UK Taskforce, to work with and apply pressure on the EU to simplify the system. Clearly, the system was designed from a deal that was agreed just a week before the end of the transition period and has been found wanting when applied in practice.
Given the EU is going to have to use this process themselves, it is in their interests for it to be made to work. The creation of a cross-government taskforce would give reassurance to the industry that work on resolving the delays is being given the urgency it deserves.
As part of this work we must broker derogations with the EU around certain parts of this system, for example around the need for catch certificates, to remove excessive paperwork around live produce.
This will allow the sector to return to the model of being able to get produce to European markets the day after it has been caught, that is essential for it to be viable. Other countries outside the EU are able to sell fresh seafood to European markets, so this system clearly can be made to work.
Then we need to see the promised £100 million investment provide a plan for the industry to grow and expand. This should ensure Scottish fisheries enjoy the full benefits of this investment and that the UK and Scottish governments work together to deliver a shared vision for its future.
I truly believe the deal that has been negotiated with the EU can provide the basis for rebuilding the Scottish fishing industry and our coastal communities from over 40 years of Common Fisheries Policy membership, if it can be made to work.
Any trade deal was going to mean some compromise over no deal on access to our waters, so that we could in turn have access to European markets to sell goods, like seafood produce. While I understand it may not be to the immediate extent that some may have wished, it is a fact that this deal will allow our catchers to take an increasingly larger share of fish from our waters.
I find it telling that the deal’s most vocal critics are the SNP. Ever the false friend to Scottish fishing, they did not mention catchers when they were scaremongering about no deal but now that there is a deal they have taken up their cause.
This is despite their ultimate goal being to take us back into the Common Fisheries Policy, with some vague fantasy notion that this would lead to a better deal for our fishermen. They are clearly more interested in scoring political points than reaching a resolution to this problem.
The Scottish Conservative Party that I lead will stand by our manifesto promise to deliver a better deal for Scottish fishing. We will continue to work with our governments to resolve the delays in exporting to the EU and we will fight for coastal communities to see the investment and opportunities they were promised.