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Plenary, 13 Dec 2006

13 Dec 2006 · S2 · Plenary

Item of business

Fisheries

Morrison, Mr Alasdair Lab Western Isles Watch on SPTV

A fallacy that is being advanced by both the Tories and the Scottish nationalists is that only Scotland had to reduce fishing effort. I pose the same question that I posed to the nationalists: where would we be had we maintained fishing levels and effort levels at 1,100 boats? I think that Mr Brocklebank mentioned that figure. Where would our fishing communities be today? They would not exist.

Given that Mr Finnie is Europe's longest-serving fisheries minister—I thank Mr Brocklebank for his research—he will be well able to reflect on and analyse the impact of what were and are short-term populist policies, which can be summed up as incoherent ravings.

I turn to matters of importance in my constituency. This afternoon, I had one of my regular and productive discussions with the secretary of the Western Isles Fishermen's Association, Duncan MacInnes. He told me that as a direct consequence of a change to a system whereby all sellers and buyers of prawns in Scotland are now required to register, the Western Isles has seen a 30 per cent increase in the price of prawn tails. The new system, which was introduced earlier this year, means that everything that is landed, bought and sold is recorded. It has greatly benefited the trawling sector in the Hebrides and I am sure that it will have had an equally beneficial effect on other island communities.

I hope that the minister will argue for and be able to secure the same quota levels that were obtained last year, which were 18,000 tonnes for the west coast. That plea, unlike the ravings of the nationalists, is based on science. The call to maintain those quota levels is based on the ever-improving methods of assessing stocks, which include the use of underwater television cameras. As well as showing exactly what is on the fishing grounds, that method of assessment allows scientists to return to the grounds to compare and contrast what they find with previous situations and enables proper analyses of the size and quantities of prawn stocks to be carried out.

I am happy to report that the value of prawns that are landed in the Western Isles has increased. Fishermen landed more prawns in the first eight months of 2006 than they did in the 12 months of 2005. Importantly, those increases are sustainable because size and quality continue to improve. The number of fishermen in employment remains stable, as does the number of people who are employed on land in the processing sector.

I turn briefly to the west coast monkfish quota levels. I want to probe with the minister the possibility of securing an increase in that fishery. Again, that request is based firmly on excellent collaborative work between the industry and scientists. I hope that such sensible working practices and methods of analysing the precise state of our fishing stocks will bear good fruit in the negotiations in the form of an increase in quota levels for what, as the minister knows, is a key, high-value stock. I look forward to hearing what he says about that in his summing up.

The nationalists' amendment once again betrays their obsession with constitutional niceties. They simply do not appreciate the fact that all European negotiation is about teamwork. Our team will consist of Ross Finnie and Ben Bradshaw. On occasion, when appropriate, Ross Finnie will raise the flag for the United Kingdom and, by definition, for Scotland. As someone who represents a fishing community, I do not care what number is on Ross Finnie's shirt when he negotiates a deal for our fishermen. I and all right-thinking people should be concerned about the result that Mr Finnie and Mr Bradshaw will secure for Scotland's fishing communities. We must put the long-term interests of our fishing communities before any perceived short-term political gain. That means being robust at the negotiating table and, on occasion, being brutally honest about previous practices in fishing. If we are not, not only do we con ourselves but we betray the people whom we represent.

Talking about betraying the people whom we represent, for the umpteenth time I ask Mr Rob Gibson of Scottish nationalist fame why he failed to support the fishing industry in the Western Isles almost three years ago, when—

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Plenary, 13 Dec 2006

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