Scottish coastal vessel. (Photo: Stock File)
Scotland requests clarity on post-Brexit fishing industry future
UNITED KINGDOM
Saturday, November 11, 2017, 02:40 (GMT + 9)
Scottish authorities have urged the UK Government to clarify its post-Brexit plans for the fishing industry ahead of fishing quota talks in the European Union.
In this regard, Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy Fergus Ewing said all parties must work together in the run-up to crucial European fishing talks in December, The Herald Scotland reported.
"Against a backdrop of complex science and lack of agreement by the Coastal States on some stocks, there is no doubt that this year's fisheries negotiations will be difficult," warned Ewing at a meeting with UK Fisheries Minister George Eustice, representatives from the fishing industry, and from the Welsh and Northern Irish administrations.
Ewing claimed that there is no doubt that the continued uncertainty and lack of clarity about what the future holds is uppermost in Ministerial and stakeholders' minds.
"That has been compounded by the UK Government's confusion on what the transition period post-Brexit might mean for fisheries,” he stated.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs stressed that meeting provides a valuable opportunity to hear views from across the UK ahead of these crucial negotiations, helping the UK Government represent the interests of the whole fleet and deliver their objectives for sustainable fishing and a profitable industry.
On the other hand, Nicola Sturgeon, SNP leader, said members of his party would do all it could to support farmers and fisherman after Brexit but emphasised they need clarity, since fishermen and farmers who rely on EU subsidies, still do not know what the future holds for them.
The Scottish Government will push the UK for a voice in the annual fisheries negotiations in Brussels next month.
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