Brexit could see £540MILLION pumped into the Scottish fishing industry, creating 5,000 extra jobs and demolishing existing trade barriers, a Scottish government report has revealed.
The detailed analysis is by the agency ‘Marine Scotland’ and published by Scotland’s First Minister, a staunch believer in the EU, Nicola Sturgeon. It found that Britain leaving Brussels’ draconian Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and gaining UK waters back would boost the seafood sector by 21 percent.
SNP’s Rural Affairs Minister, Fergus Ewing, had previously insisted the report showed leaving the single market and customs union would cause “significant harm” to the fishing industry.
The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) described the report findings as a ‘Brexit bonanza’.
Bertie Armstrong, the SFF’s chief executive, said: “This report simply underlines the importance of the UK regaining sovereignty over its own waters and becoming an independent coastal state with the powers to control access and fishing opportunity.
Any other course of action would be harmful to the fishing industry and, given its importance to coastal communities, that would be totally unacceptable.”
In March, the UK Government was slammed for betraying fishermen in the Brexit transition deal, which will see the bloc negotiating fishing rights until 2020.
Yet according to the document, a new arrangement along those lines outside the EU would see a direct increase in economic output of around £320 million.
That, added to a further £220million in indirect impacts would see the fishing industry benefit from a total of £540million. Imagine the results if the UK was to get a full and clean Brexit?
Do you agree we need to take back control of our fisheries and leave the EU?
Click here to sign now!
