Michael Gove said fishing was "very close to my heart" - but then blundered over the names of two major ports as he attacked the EU's common fisheries policy.
The Justice Secretary said his father's business as a fish merchant in Aberdeen had collapsed, partly as a result of the rules set in Brussels.
But he was mocked on Twitter after stumbling over the names of two Scottish ports - referring to Peterborough and Fraserhead rather than Fraserburgh and Peterhead.
Read more: Michael Gove: Brexit would be a liberating, empowering moment of patriotic renewal
Answering questions following a speech on Brexit he said the common fisheries policy was a "symbol of what we lost when we entered the EU".
He said: "Some in this audience might know that my father inherited a fish merchant's business in Aberdeen from my grandfather and that business went to the wall, partly as a result of the common fisheries policy.
"The common fisheries policy essentially gave other European Union nations unfettered access to our fish stocks and - I would hope - that if we leave the European Union we can once more see the ports of Peterborough and Frasherhead and Grimsby flourishing, because we will take back control of our territorial waters.
"I recognise that fishing is perhaps not the most high employment industry in this country, but it's a symbol of what we lost when we entered the EU, control over national resources that if we retained them we could have husbanded in our interest and indeed in the interest of others."
Twitter users soon picked up on Mr Gove's error.
Jim Robertson said: "Fishing is very close to my heart, says Gove. Then cites Peterburgh and Fraserhead!! Confused, Mr Gove?"
David Moncur said: "Peterborough and Fraserhead fishing ports says #gove. Where are they then?"
Alice Cochrane pointed out "everyone knows Peterborough is landlocked".
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel