Seamus Logan

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford. I thank the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Rupert Lowe) for calling this debate today and for his historical inputs, which were a bit of a surprise nevertheless. The constituency that I represent, Aberdeenshire North and Moray East, boasts two of the largest fishing ports in the UK, Peterhead and Fraserburgh, with Aberdeenshire noted for the highest fishing gross value added of £153 million in 2021, the latest year for which figures are available—48% of the entire Scottish fishing GVA. That is 0.21% of the Scottish economy, seven times the UK figure of 0.03%. It is important to bear that in mind. Fishing has a value of £321 million to the Scottish economy and employs 4,241 people, on those 2021 figures. Fishing is part of the DNA of our coastal communities. The sea of disappointments that these communities have faced from the previous Government’s broken Brexit promises have cost them dearly, leaving the UK in a far weaker position to negotiate on fishing rights than when we still had a seat at the table in the European Union. These fishing communities face huge economic challenges due to the loss of freedom of movement, as already referred to by the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon). Principally fish processors, and perhaps to a lesser extent the catching sector, are facing labour shortages, alongside new trade barriers erected by a Tory Brexit deal that was supported by Labour at the time. Trade barriers are estimated to have resulted in a 30% increase in transport costs and a 50% increase in packaging costs. It is feared that the European Union will use the new Labour Government’s desire to renegotiate the UK’s trade deal with the EU as leverage to secure greater access for EU fishing fleets to UK waters in the pre-2026 negotiations. With the new Labour Government promising a reset ahead of the trade and co-operation agreement negotiations in 2026, there are serious concerns that the coupling of fishing and energy negotiations might be a problem. The potential linkage between energy and fishing in whatever deal is agreed could result in fishing communities in the north-east suffering a far worse deal after 2026. If that happens, the blame will lie squarely with the Westminster Government, but it is the Scottish fishing communities that will pay the price. I agree with the hon. Member for Strangford that the Minister is doing an excellent job, but he needs to reassure fishing communities in my constituency and indeed across Scotland and these islands that the UK Government will liaise with the Scottish Government and the Scottish fisheries groups to ensure that the best possible deal can be negotiated when the TCA expires, and so that access to our waters will not become a casualty of any new trade deals. I ask him to ensure that these points are fully considered in the coming negotiations.