Taskforce launched to bolster fishing fleet buffeted by Brexit

The Peterhead lifeboat approaches the trawler as it comes close to disaster on the rocks during the dramatic rescue on Friday

A taskforce launched by the UK Government in a bid to resolve problems faced by Scotland’s fishing fleet in the wake of Brexit will meet within days.

Scotland Office minister Davidduguidsaidthe taskforce would aim to “work collaboratively across UK

David Duguid and Scottish Governments”. It is due to meet fortnightly, with the first talks coming after industry leaders accused the UK Government of being “in denial” about the scale of the problem fishermen face exporting their catch to the European Union. Fishermen and wholesalers have been forced to throw away tens of thousands of pounds of fish and lost EU customers after postbrexit red tape created huge delays in getting produce to European customers.

Mike Park, chief executive of the Scottish White Fish Producers Association, welcomed news of the taskforce, saying: “There are still a number of issues that need to be resolved, and if the taskforce can help resolve those then all good and well.”

Mr Park said that while the situation with moving seafood to Europe had improved, there are still problems. He said: “There are more lorries getting through now, but there still seems to be significant issues with groupage – where merchants have more than one product in a lorry. It will take longer to get fresh product to market in Europe.” Donna Fordyce, chief executive of Seafood Scotland, said: “This goes far beyond teething problems and needs real solutions, delivered quickly.”