Meeting of the Parliament 30 April 2025
Unfortunately, the interministerial group meetings at which we would have hoped to discuss these issues over the past couple of months were cancelled at the last minute by my counterpart ministers in the UK Government. However, I hope to have an opportunity to catch up with the UK Government next week, and I will use that opportunity to discuss that point.
We need an agreement that delivers improvements for our fishing communities. We also need the UK Government to provide Scotland with a fair share of funding for our marine economy and coastal communities. The UK Government has imposed a short-term, Barnettised settlement, which is the complete opposite of what was called for by devolved Governments across the UK. Baselining the marine funding allocation at the current 2014 figure of £14 million simply does not reflect the reality of funding requirements.
If we compare that to our neighbours in the EU, we see that Denmark, for example, which has a population similar to Scotland’s but has a smaller sea area and marine sector, will receive the equivalent of £25 million through the EU’s current European maritime, fisheries and aquaculture fund. The post-Brexit power grab by the UK Government needs to be rectified as a matter of urgency.
The fact remains that we face a range of challenges arising from exiting the EU. There are permanent and on-going barriers to trade that are significantly impairing the competitiveness of our seafood sector. Although the trade and co-operation agreement avoided the imposition of tariffs, trade in seafood products with the EU is now subject to costly certification and inspection requirements. There is also the on-going threat of retaliatory tariffs on exports if the UK Government fails to meet relevant TCA obligations.
Securing an uplift in the TCA shares of fishing quotas is important and should always be based on zonal attachment—that is, where the fish mostly are. Of equal importance is the sustainable management of those shared and jointly managed stocks for the long-term future.
I remind members that we are debating a motion from a party that delivered a deeply damaging deal—one that was not in the Scottish national interest. In the words of one former MP,
“the UK Government has delivered far less than I hoped or expected ... It would be easier to get someone to drink a pint of cold sick than to try to sell this as a success.”
The UK Government has a lot of work to do if it wants to meaningfully address the inadequacies of the TCA. We call on it to engage with the Scottish Government as a matter of urgency, so that we can work with it to address these matters and deliver for Scotland’s fishing industry.