Question reference: S5W-07654
- Asked by: Ross Thomson, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 1 March 2017
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Current status: Answered by Fergus Ewing on 9 March 2017
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the comment by the chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation that “Brexit really is a sea of opportunity for our coastal and island communities. Scotland sits strategically on the northern continental shelf right in the middle of some of the richest fishing grounds in the world. Having control of these fishing grounds would generate significant and sustainable economic growth to these communities with spin-off benefits for local businesses and schools”.
Answer
The Scottish Government supports the taking advantage of all opportunities to promote the sustainable growth of the Scottish fishing industry, and our rural and coastal communities more generally. As set out in “Scotland’s Place in Europe”, the Scottish Government support Scotland’s withdrawal from the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) through seeking membership of the EEA post-Brexit. This will help support growth of the fishing industry and rural communities by ensuring that key decisions affecting Scotland’s marine assets are made in Scotland rather than elsewhere, and that we are able to put in place more proportionate fisheries management arrangements.