Scotland’s fishermen strongly agree with the come out of the Brexit, saying that they can finally be in charge of the industry.
Although Scotland’s turnout was 67.2% in favour of remaining, the fishermen think that UK leaving the EU is good news for the 5,000 strong fleet. They can now have their own exclusive economic zones and believe they can overcome the past of overfishing and incoherent regulation.
Bertie Armstrong, the chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, says that politicians should embrace the result of the Brexit and use it for the benefit of the fishing industry. His main examples come from Iceland and Norway, countries that are not part of the European Union, but share many key North Sea fishing grounds with the UK.
If UK decides to join the EEA (European Economic Area), as Norways and Iceland did, they will still face complex regulations on how to manage the fish stock. Fishermen will need to follow strict rules, and will not be left to come up with their own laws.
The SNP MP Paul Monaghan disagrees with the Scottish fishermen. He thinks leaving the EU will not help the industry in any way and that they will not see any significant change within the next two years, until the Government chooses to progress Article 50.
He even says that remaining in the EU would have helped the fishermen, because the fisheries policies were due to be renegotiated in 2020, when UK could have finally had a chance to make a difference for its industry.
Dealing with the consequences of the turnout will take some time, but if Scotland is to come up with a new plan for their industry then they have to take into consideration a way to maintain and conserve the marine environment as well.