PM URGED TO MEET FISHERMEN HE INSULTED AND PATRONISED AFTER EU TRADE DEAL

PM urged to meet fishermen he insulted and patronised after EU trade deal. The Prime Minister owes an explanation to the fishermen he insulted and patronised by describing the UK-EU trade deal as good for the industry, according to the leader of the UK’s largest fisheries organisation.

In a letter to Sir Keir Starmer, Elspeth Macdonald, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF), said he should do the decent thing and meet skippers and crew to hear first-hand what the industry needs to thrive.

The deal gave EU vessels 12 years of access to UK waters, which they rely heavily on to fish their quotas, removing at a stroke the key bargaining chip in annual negotiations over those quotas.

The UK Government tried to sweeten the blow with a £360 million fishing and coastal growth fund over the same period – a figure that pales in comparison with the £6 billion worth of fish that the EU will take from UK waters in that time.

Ms Macdonald said:

“It was both insulting and patronising to hear you and your Ministers tell us this was a good deal for fishing, because Scottish farmed salmon might, if the EU decides to play ball, be exported without the need for Export Health Certificates at some undetermined point in the future.

“If your government had bothered to understand anything about the fishing industry you would know that farmed salmon and wild capture fisheries are completely separate industries.

“You also told us, again patronisingly, that we should welcome the stability of a twelve-year agreement on access. That you know what’s best for us. Yet we have spent months telling your Ministers that stability in terms of access to waters is the worst possible position for the UK.

“It was the instability of the EU’s access to UK waters from 2026 that was our trump card, and you have not only thrown it away, but ripped it up into tiny pieces before doing so.

“Your reaction also showed a lack of understanding of the 2020 agreement and how international fisheries agreements work, as well as a misplaced lack of faith – that we don’t share – in your negotiating teams to deliver better quota shares for the UK through annual negotiations.”

On the coastal and growth fund, Ms Macdonald observed that Sir Keir’s mandate only runs until 2029.

“As no future government is obliged to meet commitments made by a previous one, you can in essence, only commit to three years of funding – some £90 million.

“Contrast this to the £450-500 million value of the fish that the EU will take from our waters for the next twelve years – £6 billion, not accounting for inflation or value added – and what little sugar coating you felt there might be in your funding package to sweeten the very bitter pill swiftly vanishes.”

Letter sent to the PM, dated 28 May 2025:

Dear Prime Minister,

I am writing to you little more than a week since your Summit with the European Union, where it was announced that access to the UK’s fishing waters was once again the price to be paid for other objectives, though these other objectives are yet to be negotiated and secured.

The UK is now so subservient to the EU that it has to give up something of enormous value to the UK before the EU will even sit down to negotiate things that will benefit both parties – this is a pathetically sorry state of affairs and certainly not one that reflects an equal partnership.

SFF said in its initial response to the Summit that what you agreed on fishing is a betrayal of the Scottish fishing industry, and indeed worse even than the deal that Boris Johnson signed in 2020. We stand fully behind these words. The end of the Adjustment Period on fisheries in mid-2026 presented an opportunity for the UK fishing industry – one that you have now thrown away, for nothing in return that will benefit our members.

It was both insulting and patronising to hear you and your Ministers tell us this was a good deal for fishing, because Scottish farmed salmon might, if the EU decides to play ball, be exported without the need for Export Health Certificates at some undetermined point in the future.

If your government had bothered to understand anything about the fishing industry you would know that farmed salmon and wild capture fisheries are completely separate industries. As SFF’s colleagues in the NFFO commented, “….fish farming has no more in common with wild capture fisheries than sheep farming does.”

You also told us, again patronisingly, that we should welcome the stability of a twelve-year agreement on access. That you know what’s best for us. Yet we have spent months telling your Ministers that stability in terms of access to waters is the worst possible position for the UK.

It was the instability of the EU’s access to UK waters from 2026 that was our trump card, and you have not only thrown it away, but ripped it up into tiny pieces before doing so. Your reaction also showed a lack of understanding of the 2020 agreement and how international fisheries agreements work, as well as a misplaced lack of faith – that we don’t share – in your negotiating teams to deliver better quota shares for the UK through annual negotiations.

Your government never wastes an opportunity to tell the British public about the perilous state of the country’s finances, yet like a rabbit out of a hat, £360 million is announced for a new fishing and coastal growth fund. But let’s look beneath the surface of this announcement. The £360 million is to be £30 million each year from 2026-2038. Your government’s mandate only runs until the next general election and might be out of office by 2029. As no future government is obliged to meet commitments made by a previous one, you can in essence, only commit to three years of funding – some £90 million. Contrast this to the £450-500 million value of the fish that the EU fleet will take from our waters every year for the next twelve years – £6 billion, not accounting for inflation or value added – and what little sugar coating you felt there might be in your funding package to sweeten the very bitter pill swiftly vanishes.

Be in no doubt Prime Minister, this is a terrible deal for the fishing industry and insulting us by telling us we don’t know what’s good for us is a terrible way to lead. At the very least, do us the decency of meeting with us to hear at first-hand what we know we need to help our sector and not just what your advisers who know nothing of our proud industry tell you.

Your sincerely,

Elspeth Macdonald

Chief Executive

Sourcehttps://www.sff.co.uk/news/pm-urged-to-meet-fishermen-he-insulted-and-patronised-after-eu-trade-deal