How are the SNP supporting Scotland’s fishing industry?

Our fishing and seafood sectors are currently suffering the very real price of Brexit.

As a priority these sectors need access to the EU single market, without the barriers the UK Government has put in place through Brexit. An SNP government is doing all we can to regain markets and opportunities for our fish and seafood sector.

The UK secured a worse deal for Scotland’s fishing sector than we would have had under the Common Fisheries Policy. When we become independent and rejoin the EU, we will through having a seat at the table as one of the richest fisheries nations there, seek to influence policy to benefit our current and future fisheries interests.

We will continue to support our industry to recover from the Tories’ Brexit betrayal and press for the £62 million of marine funding Scotland is entitled to, to be fully allocated to Scotland.

We will deliver our framework to manage fisheries, balancing environmental, social and economic interests, adopting an ecosystems approach to fishing which follows the science. We will support local management of inshore fisheries, develop more sustainable fisheries pilots and increase inshore fishing opportunities.

We will create an explicit economic link between catching and landing, incentivising the landing of more fish in Scotland creating more jobs and business opportunities onshore, especially in processing.

Through the blue economy action plan, we will seek to reduce harmful practices and consequences such as marine littering, marine plastics, pollution and reduce carbon emissions from marine activity – in particular, we will explore the potential for low carbon fishing vessels to be deployed on inshore waters.