Save subsidies for the commercial sector

Scottish Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead has urged the UK Government to resist cuts to the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) which he feels must continue to support Scotland’s most vulnerable fishing and rural communities.

According to Mr Lochhead said: “The existing European Fisheries Fund provides crucial support for Scotland’s rural communities – with £186 million since 2000, when match funding by the Scottish Government is included. This underpins economic development and growth for a diverse range of fisheries, aquaculture and processing businesses, and the fragile coastal communities who rely on these industries.

Of course one sector which receives none of the bounty is recreational sea angling – millions of puns invested in sectors which do nothing to ensure the future of the marine environment or biodiversity within it, nothing for a sector which delivers £150+ million/yr to the Scottish economy and which has minimal impact on the marine environment and biodiversity within it.

Category: Scottish Government News