Moray SNP News

'FISHING INDUSTRY MUST NOT BE TREATED AS EXPENDABLE' - ANGUS ROBERTSON MP

MORAY MP SAYS SINGLE MARKET MEMBERSHIP VITAL FOR EXPORTING SECTOR

Angus Robertson, SNP MP for Moray, along with Westminster SNP colleagues, is calling for the Government to ensure it doesn’t treat the fishing industry as expendable during Brexit negotiations. In the House of Commons the SNP stated that the UK Government must not repeat its mistakes of the 1970s by trading away Scotland’s fishing interests in Brexit negotiations.  

Commenting on the impact of Brexit on the Scottish Fishing Sector, Angus Robertson MP said:

“In Moray, coastal communities like Buckie, Lossiemouth and Burghead still have very strong fishing ties and we have significant fish processing jobs as well.

“Our Scottish fishing fleet was betrayed by the Tories in the 70s when the UK signed up to the Common Fisheries Policy. We’ve seen the papers from the Scotland Office that showed how our industry was treated as ‘expendable’ and we must reject any attempts to undermine the sector in Scotland during the important negotiations with the EU.

“Last year alone Scotland exported fish and seafood worth over £438 million to EU countries, which represents nearly two-thirds of our food exports. For the fishing industry, the ease of market access is hugely important to Scotland, and it is overwhelmingly in our interests to retain membership of the Single Market.

“There is no part of the fishing industry that doesn’t rely on the free movement of labour, and EU nationals continue to make up a large proportion of the work force in the processing sector. If we were to lose part of our processing capacity in Scotland because of labour shortages, we’d lose landings, we’d lose exports, we’d lose revenue and critically we’d jeopardise hundreds of local jobs that free movement provides in our fishing communities. In turn those jobs support other local services.

“The SNP is urging the UK Government to give constituents here in Moray, the Scottish fishing industry and the communities that it helps support, the assurances that we need that Scottish fishing interests won’t be sold in favour of other economic and strategic priorities. The Tories considered the fishing industry of Scotland expendable then, they must not treat these industries as expendable now.”