Rural affairs minister says Scottish fishing fund allocation 'wholly unacceptable'

An SNP minister has said the UK Government’s latest funding allocation for Scottish fishermen is “wholly unacceptable”.

Scotland has been awarded £28m from Westminster’s 12-year £360m Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund – a share of 7.78%.

Rural affairs secretary Mairi Gougeon is calling on the UK Government to reconsider those funding allocations, as it is “not a fair settlement for Scotland”.

However, the UK Government has stated that the funding was determined based on the share for devolved nations under the Barnett formula, which is based on population size.

In a letter to her UK counterpart, Dame Angela Eagle, Gougeon argued that the Scottish fishing sector, which accounts for over 60% of the UK’s fishing capacity and over 60% of UK seafood exports, should receive a bigger proportion of the funds.

She added that more than 75% of all UK quota species are landed by Scottish vessels.

“The deal that you have presented on the share of this funding to Scotland is wholly unacceptable,” Gougeon wrote.

With the funding being spread over 12 years, Gougeon said the deal means Scotland will have a “meagre” £2.3m of additional funding per year to invest in marine industries and coastal communities.

“This is nowhere near enough to support the next generation of fishermen and breathe new life into our coastal communities as your letter sets out,” Gougeon’s letter stated.

Over the past several months, at both ministerial and official levels, Gougeon said ScottishmMinisters have set out a “clear, rational, and evidence-based case” for Scotland’s share of this funding to be representative of the relative size and importance of the Scottish sector.

She said that it should at least reflect the 46% share Scotland previously received from the EU funding allocated to the UK before Brexit.

Gougeon called the 7.78% Scottish allocation “unjustified and nothing short of insulting” to the Scottish fishing industry and coastal communities.

“It also disproportionately benefits your own fishing sector in England – for whom you have retained over £300m, despite landing significantly smaller catches than Scotland,” Gougeon wrote.

UK fisheries minister Dame Angela Eagle said: “The grit and determination of fishers throughout the UK brings the best seafood to our dining tables and across the world.

“This fund will revitalise the fishing sector and coastal communities right across the UK, spurring growth as part of our Plan for Change.

“Supporting devolved governments with this new funding will help get the money to where it’s most needed, so the sector can thrive for generations to come.”