AN emergency summit will take place today to find ways for Scottish seafood exporters hit by the crisis in Calais to find alternative ways to get their products to the continent.
Delays at the Channel Tunnel caused by thousands attempting to gain access to the UK has meant that seafood being exported has been spoiled in trucks well before it reaches customers.
Possible alternative routes or modes of transport will be discussed by key figures from the seafood, fishing and transport sectors, with Scottish seafood exports to Europe worth more than £450 million a year. Nicola Sturgeon has said the situation at the French port is costing businesses millions of pounds a week.
The move by the Scottish Government to set up the meeting comes after the UK Government and France issued a joint call for international efforts to address "a global migration crisis", as hundreds make nightly bids to cross the channel.
Richard Lochhead, the Scottish Government fisheries secretary, said Scottish seafood producers were being disproportionately affected by the disruption.
He said: "The situation in Calais is clearly complex and requires a multi-agency response involving both UK and French authorities – and the Scottish Government continues to urge the UK to play its part in a co-ordinated and comprehensive EU plan of action to deal with the migrant crisis. We also need action to address the immediate issue around getting vehicles and exports moving again.
"The Scottish Government has been working hard to investigate what practical support we might be able to offer, such as helping to identify alternative routes or modes of transport. But it is vital that any prospective solutions work for industry which is why we have convened today’s meeting to explore options to put to the wider seafood processing sector."
French riot police sprayed migrants with chemical irritants after they tore down security fences at the Eurotunnel terminal in Calais on Saturday night.
Downing Street has announced that the UK will fund additional private security guards, fencing and CCTV cameras to improve security at the terminal, while more French police are to be deployed to the border over the summer.
A consultation has been launched on stripping financial support from the families of migrants who fail in their applications for asylum, in a move branded "morally reprehensible" by the Refugee Council.
There was controversy over the cost to taxpayers of housing migrants who have arrived through the Tunnel, after contractors Serco confirmed that around 100 were being accommodated in hotels as increased numbers outstripped available places in the community.
The Home Office said that the use of hotels was "only ever acceptable as a short-term contingency measure".
In a joint article, Home Secretary Theresa May and her French counterpart Bernard Cazeneuve called on other EU nations to take action to address the root causes of the chaos in Calais and said would-be migrants had to be convinced that "our streets are not paved with gold".
They said that solving the crisis was "the top priority" for both governments, but added: "What we are currently facing is a global migration crisis. This situation cannot be seen as an issue just for our two countries."
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