Opinion

By Nick Joy

SO, it happened! For some, there would have been weeping and gnashing of teeth after the general election, for others, glee. Whatever the case, the position from Westminster is going to be very different than that of the last three years. Of course, the EU may play another blinder and find a way to keep us in but I doubt it. Europe is just about as fed up with the whole Brexit process as the UK is. Furthermore, their ability to persuade MPs and the media has gone, as the election has cleared up, if not the view of the British people, then their need to get this over with.

The ability to weaponise various areas of the withdrawal is still possible, and I am sure will happen, but it is highly unlikely that the deal itself will fall through.

What keeps on being forgotten is that the EU may not need the UK as much as the reverse, but it is of no benefit to them to have a World Trade Organisation Brexit either.

As to how this affects aquaculture and agriculture, I will simply refer to the article that I wrote the day after the referendum in 2016:

‘For an exporting aquaculture, what will this mean? Or for poor beleaguered agriculture, is this salvation? I fear it is more of the same but more accountable.’

The knowledge of our countryside and marine environment in either parliament is uncomfortably low.The likelihood of further repression of our industries is about the same as it was under the EU.

The only difference is the local nature of our parliament, and if the countryside industries actually get together and work together, then we may effect some useful change.

The biggest problem is the current disunity. I am not referring to the wild salmon and sea trout sector’s antipathy to salmon farming, but the fact that aquaculture and agriculture don’t work together.

As pointed out in last month’s Fish Farmer, the government will be asked to trade away some fishing rights in exchange for access to the EU market. For salmon farming, we might think that as long as it does not affect us then we will be able to trade freely.

I would countenance a building of strong relationships between fishing, agriculture, aquaculture, forestry and country sports. Not because I believe that giving everyone a good cuddle is the best way, but because we are still small enough to be picked off.

There will be some who fear a malign government. I have my doubts about whether that will prove to be the case, but I am more afraid of the ignorance involved.

In a situation where an elephant and a mouse are in a room together, the elephant might not see the mouse, and has no intent to hurt it, but in the end you try explaining that to a squashed mouse.

As an industry, we have few who understand us and among other rural industries we do not have the support that we might otherwise wish.

So now is the time, while the government is trying to decide who should be sacrificed and who advantaged, to try to get a greater level of understanding with those who might need our help.

The great British public who made their decision in December are also critical to us and we need to be sure we have the highest profile in explaining why we matter.

Just in case you wondered, I’m not avoiding the success of the SNP here in Scotland, who are claiming a mandate for another referendum.

I still feel that, whether their view is correct or not, they will succeed eventually in getting the go-ahead.

How long that will take I will not predict, but I believe it will be well after the end of 2020, which will allow the effects of Brexit on business to at least settle down a little.

I fear, though, that SNP demands will continue to extend the period where companies are nervous of investment, but that cannot be helped.

I hope you all had a wonderful festive break and transition from 2019 to 2020, and that it will be similarly easy when we change from 2020 to 2021. We can at least hope!

“I would countenance a building of strong relationships between fishing, agriculture, aquaculture, forestry and country sports ”