Scottish fishing leaders have accused Boris Johnson of “betraying” their industry amid reports he's been involved in secret, last-minute talks on how much they can catch to secure a Brexit trade deal.
Elspeth Macdonald, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, said a compromise on the quota share and timing of transition out of the Common Fisheries policy would amount to a sell-out.
In a frank statement as talks continued in Brussels, Macdonald said: “Amid all the rumours and speculation, we have been clear from the outset that the industry only seeks the same sorts of arrangements that the EU has with other coastal states – full control of access to our waters, fairer quota shares based on zonal attachment and annual negotiations on access and fishing opportunities. No more and no less than the EU has with others.”
The SFF boss, who represents the largest operators and quota holders in Scotland, spoke out as it was revealed Johnson and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held a secret phone call on Monday to try and broker an 11th-hour deal on fisheries.
The compromise could involve a five-year transition and a 35% cut in EU quota in UK waters, a move which Scottish quota owners would find unacceptable.
Macdonald said: “If any of these offers are accurate, then in terms of percentages and length of transition period, they are utterly derisory and totally unacceptable to the Scottish fishing fleet.
“Repatriating only 35% of the EU’s landings to the UK phased in over a period of several years would be a terrible deal for the fishing industry.”
The comments echoed the historic claim of Scottish fishing industry that the deal to enter the European Common Market in the 1970s was a betrayal of their fishing rights.
Macdonald said Brexit with a compromise on fishing would leave the UK as a “coastal state in name only”.
She added: “You cannot have sovereign control over your fishing waters with one hand tied behind your back. This is not what we were promised, and only last week the Prime Minister made the same point at PMQs.
“If this is indeed what is on the table, then the Prime Minister and his Government will have completely betrayed the promises they have made repeatedly, in public and in private, to our industry.”
