Betrayal, con-trick, sold down the river… we’ve been hearing it for decades; inside and outside the EU, whoever was in government.

The audience for these rituals is never meant to notice (and generally doesn’t because it is a complex subject) that despite all of the above, our Scottish fishing barons become even richer and more powerful.

Five families effectively control nearly half of Scotland’s quotas. Before the law took an interest, it was reckoned more “black fish” were landed in Scotland than under EU quotas.

While the barons prospered mightily, it has been a different story in many of Scotland’s traditional fishing communities which were marginalised under the Common Fisheries Policy and survive largely on shellfish.

For them, increased quota is a far less significant issue than access to markets. The real damage to these Scottish fishermen and businesses would have been from “no deal” with the EU. Why would anyone, at this juncture, vote for that?

Whatever one thinks of Brexit, a fishing deal that gives increased quotas, a five-year transition to full control of UK waters and – critically – continuing access to EU markets is a betrayal of nothing. The question is whether Scotland will take advantage of these opportunities – not a word we hear much of.

The real con-trick is the pretence there is a single entity called “the Scottish fishing industry” rather than a series of regional industries which, historically and currently, have different and often conflicting interests. This is largely disguised by rhetoric from the most powerful.

This dichotomy is reflected in the Western Isles – where I live – which is why most fishermen here voted for Brexit. They saw an opportunity for decades of disadvantage to be reversed if lost rights could be restored.

The same applies in many parts of Scotland which associate the decline of local, non-intensive fishing industries with a more general economic malaise and lack of employment opportunities.

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Theme(s): Post Harvest Technology and Trade.

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