In a letter to First Minister Alex Salmond, the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) has voiced its concerns on fishery access to Scottish waters, should there be independence.
Speaking to the College of Europe in Bruges, the First Minister suggested that if EU membership was not inherited after Scotland became independent, then fishing fleets from other EU member states could be denied access to Scottish waters.
Bertie Armstrong, chief executive, SFF, said: “As an organisation we are apolitical and are adopting a neutral position in the referendum debate. But we have been charged by our membership to ask questions and seek clarity over issues raised in the debate, so as to enable individual fishermen to make their own minds up.”
“In particular, we are interested in expansion on his comment that if Scotland were denied EU entry, then this could lead to the fishing fleets of 12 countries being denied any access to Scottish waters and as a consequence, their access to Norwegian waters, which is also dependent on Scottish access,” he added.
The SFF says prohibiting the passage of EU fishing vessels on their way to the Norwegian zone would appear to be contrary to the principle of Innocent Passage as laid down by the law of the sea.
Clarification is also being sought on whether a risk assessment has been made for fishing over EU accession negotiations, as well as 18-month timescale that has been suggested for such negotiations.
The SFF’s letter also asks for clarification over the position regarding the rebate of Scotland’s EU contributions and its impact on access to funding.
