Five decades of UK governments have failed to recognise and safeguard the true social value of fishing to coastal communities around the country, industry leaders informed a recent event hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Fisheries.
Intended to showcase the value and diversity of the UK’s fishing industry, the gathering, chaired by APPG Co-Chairs, Melanie Onn MP and Alistair Carmichael MP, also heard a call for action in support of UK fishing.
In his keynote address, Mike Cohen, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO), said: “Fishing is fundamentally about producing food. And while the true value of fishing cannot be captured accurately by metrics like GDP – this value is vital to fishing communities and regional economies around our coasts.
“Fishing is facing a period of enormous change, and we are increasingly having to compete for space in the sea. Though there are many hurdles to overcome, fishing will continue to be important into the future and the industry has great potential for sustainable growth, if we let it.
“A large EU fleet fishing currently works in our waters and there is scope to reconsider how and where we grant access to our marine resources in the future and to really look at what this could mean for our industry and our nation.
“Fishing can provide new, sustainable jobs for young people. It can sustain large businesses and small, and support a strong, mixed UK fleet. The value and the potential of fishing must first be recognised, however, and we need the active support of decision-makers to allow this to happen. More than just warm words, parliament needs to give us some good news.”
Noting the importance of the APPG on Fisheries and her role on the APPG’s Expert Panel, Elspeth Macdonald, Chief Executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) said: “The rich waters around our coasts and islands are the envy of many. The inequitable Brexit deal reached was a massive and crushing disappointment for our industry.
“The one glimmer of hope we have is that at the end of the adjustment period, access can be negotiated annually. If recent reports are to be believed, the EU is insisting that the current fishing position is continued in exchange for cooperation on defence and security.
“The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation has long argued that fisheries arrangements should be subject to annual negotiation. If the UK government is minded to capitulate to demands for a multi-year deal and if the EU wants to keep benefitting from our rich fishing grounds, this access must deliver clear and lasting benefits to our fishing industry, and it’s up to policy makers to make that happen.
“Our industry needs the right conditions to prosper – politicians both north and south of the border need to support this, and stand behind us. Because what we don’t want to see is a third Prime Minister selling out our fishing industry.”
According to Onn, the APPG’s reception offered a moment to take stock of the key issues affecting the UK’s fishing and seafood industry, and to highlight the innovative industry-led efforts towards building a positive future.
“Working to better understand these challenges, over the past months, the APPG has covered topics including spatial squeeze, Fisheries Management Plans, and recruitment and labour.”
She also noted the recent launch of a Call for Evidence from the fishing industry and wider seafood sector on their priorities for UK-EU arrangements on fishing.
“Aware that future agreements will have consequences for future fishing and efforts towards building resilient UK fisheries, we urge those within the industry and related sectors to feed into this call.
“Your views can support the APPG’s discussions in parliament with the government and our negotiators, and this is the aim of the APPG – to ensure that fishing voices are heard within parliament, and the realities of the industry and its related sectors are understood.”
Carmichael added that the event showed some of the positive efforts underway across the industry to ensure it can sustainably produce nutritious food, support livelihoods and sustain coastal communities and economies.
“But at the end of the day the potential of the industry will not just be shaped by the efforts of those working towards its future, unless this is also backed by real political will – and time and again this has, unfortunately, been lacking.
“We now have the opportunity to revisit and undo some of the damage caused by the TCA. The politics of the industry are best understood by those at the sharp end of it. That’s why the APPG has launched the Call for Evidence from industry – our negotiators need to hear from people in ports right around the UK’s coasts,” he said.
Alongside members of the APPG’s Expert Panel, the wider UK fishing and seafood community and their representatives; the event was also attended by APPG Vice-Chair Seamus Logan MP, APPG Members Alison Hume MP and Angus Macdonald MP, and Harriet Cross MP.
