{"id":2320,"date":"2014-08-21T14:41:20","date_gmt":"2014-08-21T14:41:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.scotland.gov.uk\/coastal-monitoring\/?p=2320"},"modified":"2016-08-17T14:44:51","modified_gmt":"2016-08-17T13:44:51","slug":"scotlands-future-and-scottish-fisheries-independence-boost-for-fishing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gov.scot\/marine-scotland\/2014\/08\/21\/scotlands-future-and-scottish-fisheries-independence-boost-for-fishing\/","title":{"rendered":"Scotland’s Future and Scottish Fisheries: Independence boost for fishing"},"content":{"rendered":"

New report<\/a>\u00a0sets out key independence gains for fishing industry <\/strong><\/p>\n

Five key gains for the fishing industry have been set out in a new report<\/a> published today by Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead.<\/p>\n

Mr Lochhead said that only independence will ensure Scotland\u2019s fishing will be a national priority and ensure that the industry thrives for generations to come.<\/p>\n

The five gains for the fishing sector set out in more detail in the report are:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Fishing will be a national priority<\/p>\n

\u2022 Direct representation in the EU and ability to negotiate our priorities without compromise<\/p>\n

\u2022 Protection of Scotland\u2019s fishing quotas<\/p>\n

\u2022 Fairer share of EU Fisheries budget<\/p>\n

\u2022 Ensure Scotland\u2019s fishing levies promote Scottish seafood<\/p>\n

Mr Lochhead said:<\/p>\n

\u201cScotland\u2019s fishing and seafood sectors are great industries and play an important part in our economic success and in our social and cultural identity.\u00a0 As such they are many times more important to Scotland than to the UK as a whole, and for that reason they will be a much greater priority in an independent Scotland.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly with independence will Scotland\u2019s fishing industry benefit from greater influence, better representation, a fairer deal in funding, and quota protection.\u00a0 Freed from the existing constitutional arrangements, where it is not a national priority, it is a sector which will flourish.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith independence, quota – which is the lifeblood of the fishing industry – will be protected.\u00a0 A vote for independence will mean that we can protect our fishing sector and our rich heritage as an eminent fishing nation for this and future generations by stopping our quota being sold outside Scotland.<\/p>\n

\u201cScotland is already one of the EU\u2019s leading fishing nations as our waters account for at least 20 per cent of the European Union\u2019s catch and fourth largest of the EU’s core sea areas.\u00a0 We are already at the centre of Europe\u2019s complex fisheries management arrangements and independence will bring greater influence on the decision making process.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an independent Member State we will have a greater influence on the issues that matter most to us. It will bring an end to the ludicrous situation where the landlocked countries of Europe, such as Slovakia, Austria and Luxembourg, can even speak on EU fisheries policy, while Scotland currently cannot.\u00a0 And it will end the situation where time and again I am forced to sit in silence while other nations of Scotland\u2019s size – and smaller \u2013 make their case and secure key concessions for their fishing industries.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndependence will give us the voice we need to negotiate a fairer share of European fisheries budgets to help our fishermen and the wider industry. Unlike the UK Government which has sought to reduce the size of these funds \u2013 and whose negotiation tactics have left Scotland third bottom of the European fisheries funding league tables – we will fight for a fair deal where the funding Scotland receives is relative to the size of the industry we have.\u201d<\/p>\n