“Running roughshod over our fishing industry” – Carmichael condemns SNP government restrictions on isles fishermen

Orkney and Shetland MP, Alistair Carmichael, has today criticised the Scottish Government for harming isles fishermen with its “economic link” rules, after an SNP MSP publicly defended the policy.

MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Karen Adam, renewed her support last week for the changes, which took effect from the beginning of the year and now require Scottish pelagic vessels to land 70% of mackerel and 70% of herring catches into Scottish ports. The rules limit fishermen’s ability to land mackerel into Norway where prices can be higher, with the gap as wide as £200 to £300 per tonne in early 2025, and have been widely criticised by the pelagic catching sector in Scotland.

After the policy was announced, the Scottish Fishermen’s Organisation (SFO) accused the Scottish Government of “mounting a direct attack on the country’s pelagic fleet”, saying that the changes would “place an unfair burden on the catching sector while absolving the much more adaptable processing sector of any impact”.

Mr Carmichael said:

“The fact that elected SNP politicians like Karen Adam continue to defend this nonsensical and harmful policy should be a warning to fishing communities. If we give them free rein then the SNP are going to run roughshod over our fishing industry, just as they have done for the years – both in partnership with the Scottish Greens and now on their own. The SNP government’s economic link restrictions on Shetland fishermen must be reversed.

“No one disputes that landing fish in Scottish ports is a good thing in principle – Shetland fishermen land some of the highest value catch in the country here in the isles – but that cannot be something imposed from above as the SNP government seems to believe. Whatever warm words they use about the fishing industry, the nationalist record is one of centralisation and hostility to our communities.”