End botched fisheries management, says Scott

Control of fisheries management should be removed from Brussels, according to isles MSP Tavish Scott.

He is Scottish Liberal Democrat Fisheries spokesperson and together with Orkney MSP Liam McArthur lobbied the EU Fisheries Commissioner calling for a change to the “botched” system that has “failed fish stocks, fishermen and coastal communities”.

Mr Scott said: “Scottish fishermen need an active government focused on their interests. Decisions over fish stocks should be taken by the countries that border the North Sea. That approach would halt the botched command and control Brussels management that the industry has suffered from over decades where landlocked countries with no interest in North Sea fish stocks decide our fish quotas.

“The European Commission want that change. So do fishermen. The Scottish and UK Governments should now move heaven and earth to make regional fisheries management of the North Sea happen. That would be positive for fishermen, fish stocks and the local coastal and island communities that depend on a successful and financially sustainable industry.”