Fishing alert
A recent report published for the Scottish Fishing Industry has warned that offshore developments and expansion into marine protected areas could close more than half of Scottish fishing waters by 2050.
This would result in real harm to to our island and coastal communities, who are already under immense threat from rising fuel prices and post-Brexit issues.
According to the report the worst case scenario would result in more than 50 per cent of Scottish waters being out of bounds to our catching fleet by the mid century.
Should these forecasts prove correct it could lead to the demise of our fishing businesses (both offshore and onshore), which currently contribute in the region of £150 million to the Scottish economy.
It is hard to understand why a low carbon food like fish is under threat from the production of green energy at a time when the fishing industry is already under threat from reduced quotas and vastly increased fuel prices.
The voters in our Highland and Island coastal communities must hope that the doomsday scenario painted in the report will provide a wake-up call to both our governments before it is too late to salvage a vital asset to the Scottish economy.
DG McIntyre, Edinburgh
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