Summary
- Scottish vessels landed £885 million worth of fish and shellfish in 2025, according to Scottish Government statistics.
- The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation wants assurances that a proposed UK–EU veterinary agreement will not extend into fisheries management.
- The industry body supports simpler seafood export arrangements but warns against trading away control over UK waters.
Full Article
Fishing sustains thousands of jobs in Scotland, with 3,738 fishers working on Scottish vessels in 2025 and the fleet landing fish and shellfish worth £885 million, according to Scottish Government statistics. Against that economic backdrop, the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) has urged the Prime Minister to protect UK control over fisheries as negotiations continue on an agreement intended to ease trade with the European Union, Aberdeen Business News reports.
The federation wants firm assurances that the proposed sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement, commonly known as a veterinary agreement, will not extend into fisheries management or bring the UK back under elements of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy.
Its warning comes ahead of the UK–EU summit scheduled for 20 November in Brussels. In its statement, SFF said representatives were due to meet Europe minister Hamish Falconer on Tuesday, 27 October, to raise their concerns.
The federation supports reducing paperwork, costs and delays for seafood exporters. However, it argues that improving access to European markets must remain separate from decisions about how fish are caught and UK waters are managed.
SFF chief executive Elspeth Macdonald said: “Scottish fishermen want to sell their catch into European markets as efficiently as possible. Reducing unnecessary paperwork, costs and delays is something we would support.
“But there is a fundamental distinction between the arrangements governing how we sell our fish and those governing how we catch them.
“We have already seen fish stocks used as a bargaining chip in wider UK–EU negotiations, with the Government agreeing last year to extend existing EU access to our waters until 2038.
“That was a deeply disappointing outcome for our industry, and we cannot afford to see further concessions made through the proposed veterinary agreement.
“Our concern is that regulatory alignment could extend beyond sanitary and phytosanitary standards into fisheries management, undermining the autonomy that the UK regained following its departure from the EU.
“The Prime Minister must ensure that this agreement does not become a back door through which elements of the Common Fisheries Policy are reintroduced.”
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The federation has previously raised concerns that the agreement’s scope could widen beyond food safety and veterinary standards. It is seeking assurances that any broader regulatory alignment will not restrict the UK’s ability to determine fisheries management measures in its own waters.
Ms Macdonald added: “We will be making these concerns clear to the Europe minister and expect the UK Government to protect the interests of the Scottish catching sector in the negotiations ahead of the Brussels summit.”
