Nationalists call on Scots Tory MPs to defy whip on fishing

However Douglas Ross, MP for Moray and new Scottish Conservatives leader, said their decrees were “pathetic” and insisted that the SNP would rather “bow down to Brussels” than have the UK regain power over fishing. 

The Fisheries Bill will set out the guidelines for a new fisheries policy, which the Government says will enable the UK to have full control over its waters and fishing stock once the Brexit transition period ends.

Currently the UK fishing waters are accessible to boats from elsewhere in the EU, however when the transition period ends this will stop. 

The SNP says the flagship bill does not explain where a replacement for funding from the EU will come from, and will open the industry up to crippling tariffs.

The Scottish Government has also raised concerns, with SNP MSP Fergus Ewing, the Rural Economy Secretary, warning there could be disastrous consequences if the devolved administrations are kept out of the talks. 

SNP Rural Affairs spokeswoman Deidre Brock MP said: “For once, rather than blindly following Boris Johnson through the voting lobbies, it’s time the six Scottish Tory MPs stood up for Scotland and the world-renowned fishing industry. This could well be their new leader’s biggest test to date. This Fisheries Bill was supposed to be a flagship piece of post-Brexit legislation from the UK Government – instead, it opens the door to devastating tariffs and fails to detail how crucial European Union funding will be replaced after Brexit.

“Quite simply, the UK Government is making promises they can’t keep.

“Successive Tory governments at Westminster have sold out Scotland’s world-class fishing industry for nearly half a century and today’s bill proves that nothing has changed. On their first day back at Parliament, Douglas Ross and his fellow Scottish Tory MPs must rise to the challenge and stand up for their constituents – not their political masters in London.”

Fishing has been one of the main obstacles in achieving a trade agreement with the EU when the UK officially ends its transition period on December 31 this year.

The UK has asked for annual negotiations over fishing quotas, however the EU wants to retain the staus quo, arguing for gradual change to access and quotas.
The bloc says it wants to “avoid economic dislocation for EU fishermen that have traditionally fished in the UK waters”.

Non- EU members such as Norway currently negotiate access to their waters with the EU every year, which is what the UK has asked for. 

However the EU is under pressure to retain access to the UK waters due to the quantity and variety of fish available.

Discussions are not solely about access, with talks still to be settled on the sale of fish caught in the UK. 

The majority of the fish landed in the UK is exported, with around 448,000 tonnes being sold elsewhere in 2018.

Three quarters are sold to the EU, with some parts of the industry, such as shellfish, threatened with collapse if they are unable to access this market or forced to pay high tarrifs on the produce. 

Mr Ross said the SNP’s demands were “pathetic” and insisted the party would rather hand powers over fishing to the EU than have them controlled by 
Westminster. 

He also said that it would be a “slap in the face” to the country’s fishing communities should the 48 SNP MPs vote against the bill today.

Mr Ross said: “The SNP’s rhetoric on fishing is pathetic. Despite all their empty words, the fact is they want to take Scotland back into the hated Common Fisheries Policy. 

“They would rather bow down to Brussels than hand power back to fishermen and communities across Scotland. 

“The UK is becoming an independent coastal state and taking back control of our waters, while the SNP are desperate to sell out our fishermen at the first chance they get.

“Reports that SNP MPs will vote against this crucial legislation will be a bitter let-down and a slap in the face to Scotland’s fishing industry.”