“Insulted”, “patronised”, “betrayed”, ‘profoundly unjust’, shown ‘complete indifference’ - judgements by Scotland’s fishing industry on actions of Labour in Westminster.

By stewartb

Despite the above descriptions of Labour’s actions towards Scotland’s wild capture fisheries, in the House of Commons debate on the ‘Fishing Industry’ held on January 22, the SNP’s Seamus Logan was moved to comment: ‘I regret that the right hon. Gentleman (referring to Alastair Carmichael, the Lib Dem MP for Orkney and Shetland) and the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton, Labour) used so much of their time to attack the SNP Scottish Government.’ That was an understatement!

Crichton’s contribution, being an MP from the governing party that had so recently attracted such industry opprobrium, demonstrated an incredible ability to apportion blame for industry ills to the SNP Scottish Government. It’s as if recent statements by multiple industry bodies (reproduced below) as if by magic had never been made! And given the state of the mainstream media in Scotland, he will be untouched – never challenged. Let’s hope voters in his constituency find Labour out soon!

Source: Scottish Fishermen’s Federation website (May 29, 2025) PM urged to meet fishermen he insulted and patronised after EU trade deal.

‘The Prime Minister owes an explanation to the fishermen he insulted and patronised by describing the UK-EU trade deal as good for the industry, according to the leader of the UK’s largest fisheries organisation. (My emphasis)

‘In a letter to Sir Keir Starmer today Elspeth Macdonald, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF), said he should do the decent thing and meet skippers and crew to hear first-hand what the industry needs to thrive.

‘The deal gave EU vessels 12 years of access to UK waters, which they rely heavily on to fish their quotas, removing at a stroke the key bargaining chip in annual negotiations over those quotas.

‘The UK Government tried to sweeten the blow with a £360 million fishing and coastal growth fund over the same period – a figure that pales in comparison with the £6 billion worth of fish that the EU will take from UK waters in that time.’ More on this fund later.

Ms Macdonald goes on: “It was both insulting and patronising to hear you and your Ministers tell us this was a good deal for fishing, because Scottish farmed salmon might, if the EU decides to play ball, be exported without the need for Export Health Certificates at some undetermined point in the future

“You also told us, again patronisingly, that we should welcome the stability of a twelve-year agreement on access. That you know what’s best for us. Yet we have spent months telling your Ministers that stability in terms of access to waters is the worst possible position for the UK.

“It was the instability of the EU’s access to UK waters from 2026 that was our trump card, and you have not only thrown it away, but ripped it up into tiny pieces before doing so.”

‘We have spent months telling your Ministers’ and the rest! Despite this, during the Commons debate Torcuil Crichton still had the brazenness to state: ‘… we in the Western Isles have an SNP MSP, and we have not been listened to for 18 years.’

Source: Shetland Fishermen’s Association website (October 23, 2025) SFA condemns UK Fishing Fund allocation as ‘betrayal of Scotland’s coastal communities.

‘Shetland Fishermen’s Association has issued a strong statement of condemnation following the UK Government’s allocation of the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund, describing the decision as a profound injustice to Scotland’s fishing communities.

Sheila Keith, Executive Officer of the association is quoted: “This allocation is not just inadequate – it’s a betrayal of Scotland’s fishing communities. The Shetland fishermen, like others across Scotland, contribute significantly to the UK’s seafood economy. Yet we’ve been handed a dismal fraction of the support we need to modernise and sustain our industry.”

You may recall that this £360 million fund, announced by DEFRA, was intended to revitalise the UK’s fishing fleet and coastal infrastructure through investment in technology, training and sustainability. However, Scotland – from whose waters over 60% of the UK’s catch is taken – was allocated less than 8% of the total. The SFA claims this is ‘a dramatic drop from the previously agreed 47%’.

Elsewhere, the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation has described the allocation made by the Westminster Labour government as a “booby prize” that fails to reflect the scale and significance of Scotland’s fishing industry.

In the same statement, the SFA added: ’The association also expressed alarm at the broader political context surrounding the fund. The £360 million package has been widely interpreted as a sweetener following the UK Government’s decision to grant EU vessels 12 years of access to UK waters – a move that effectively surrendered the UK’s key bargaining chip in annual quota negotiations. Over that period, EU vessels are expected to extract an estimated £6 billion worth of fish from UK waters.‘

“We’ve already paid a high price in the Brexit deal,” Keith said. “To now be shortchanged on domestic investment while EU fleets get a free run at our grounds for a further 12 years is deeply troubling. Scotland has lost its share of the fish, and now we’re losing our share of the fund that was meant to ease the damage of that horrific deal.”

And yet recall that in the Commons debate, the SNP MP Seamus Logan was moved rightly to observe: “.. the right hon. Gentleman (Carmichael) and the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton, Labour) used so much of their time to attack the SNP Scottish Government.”

And the condemnation of Crichton’s British Labour Party’s treatment of Scotland’s fishing industry goes on!

Source: Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association website (May 19, 2025) UK-EU deal a betrayal to fishing sector.

‘Ian Gatt, chief executive of the SPFA, the representative organisation for Scotland’s mackerel, herring and blue whiting fishermen, said: “The outcome of this deal is an utter betrayal of the promises made to us on Brexit and the benefits it would bring to fishing, including control of our own waters.’

“We met with the EU Director General last November who at that time was looking for a five-year extension for fishing opportunities in UK waters, and it beggars belief that this has been extended to 12 years, which ties the hands of future UK governments in negotiations.

“In granting an extension in the access to our waters, the UK negotiators at the very least should have pressed for a reciprocal arrangement of more fish for us to catch, which would have also given increased volumes for our processing sector. This has been a terrible negotiation carried out by the UK, and which shows a complete indifference to the fortunes of our fishing communities, as well as our national food security.”

Crichton’s and the British Labour Party in Scotland’s brazenness knows no bounds, all enabled by a mainstream media turning blind eyes in the cause of the Union!