Future of Fishing

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 5th November 2024 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Efford. I congratulate the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth (Rupert Lowe) on bringing this forward. I spoke to him earlier about it, and I am very pleased to be here. Indeed—I can say this without boasting—there has not been a fishing debate in this Chamber in all the time I have been here that I have not attended and participated in, because fishing for me and my constituency is vital. The right hon. Member for Orkney and Shetland has been here longer than me, so he has spoken in every fishing debate even before that and I thank him for his attendance too.

Why is this debate important? It is a vital issue not simply for the fishing sector in my constituency and in Northern Ireland, but for food security throughout Northern Ireland. For that reason, I contacted the fishing representatives, and their response was clear—I am going to quote them. I am glad to see the Minister here. I know he met the representatives from Northern Ireland and I thank him for that; it was a very good initiative to gauge opinion. I reflect some of that opinion in my contribution today. I am also pleased to see the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore) here, and to see his interest in this matter. It is also lovely to see the hon. Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes (Melanie Onn) because the hon. Lady was here in a previous Parliament, she was often active in the fishing debate we had in Westminster Chamber every year before the quota was brought in—almost a date for the calendar so it was.

The Northern Ireland Fish Producers Organisation has made very clear what its issues are. I deal and work with the organisation often and with Harry Wick in particular. The key issue is the visas. That is the issue that the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth has brought up, and the issue that the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Torcuil Crichton) referred to as well. I think others will refer to is as we continue, too. On 24 October we saw seasonal visa allocations confirmed for the horticulture and poultry sector. The Food Minister said:

“Confirming the seasonal worker visa allocation for 2025 gives growers and producers certainty,”—

so they have the certainty—

“allowing them to plan ahead and secure the labour they need to grow and thrive.”

I welcome that; it is the right thing to do. However, it is also the right thing to do for the fishing industry. All the industry wants is that same certainty that the poultry and horticulture sectors have. I know that is one of the questions that the NIFPO asked the Minister this morning. We are well focused on what is important to do. It is not the Minister’s responsibility, but I am quite sure that he will put that forward to the relevant Minister.

The pathway to their growth is clear and easily achieved by showing fishers—fishermen and fisherwomen—the same flexibility that has been shown to the horticulture, poultry, salmon and offshore energy industries. They deserve this. I am honestly unable to understand fully why that certainty for the fishing sector has not been given. The scampi caught by the Northern Irish fleet is the last bastion of UK seafood, caught by UK fishermen and sold at scale in UK supermarkets. We welcome the Minister’s statement:

“Food security is national security, and this can only be achieved by supporting food and farming businesses.”

The Minister is right on the nail; he said the right thing. However, inaction is contraction. With that in mind, and against the background of what the fishing industry is already doing to support itself, I am conscious that fishing businesses in Northern Ireland are now only a few months from bankruptcy. What immediate plans do the Minister and Government have to address the labour supply challenges?

[Carla Lockhart (Upper Bann) (DUP)]

My hon. Friend will know well, as his constituency has a great fishing background, that 30% of Northern Ireland prawns have not been caught this year, as a direct result of labour shortages. The market is there, the produce is there, but labour shortages are holding the industry back. Does he agree that we need action on visas? We cannot keep talking about it; we need action.

[Jim Shannon]

I certainly do, and I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. That is a key issue for me in this debate, which I conveyed to the Minister beforehand. I am confident the Minister will take our thoughts on these issues and bring them forward to the immigration Minister or the Secretary of State. The questions I have asked in the Chamber in the past have focused attention on getting a visa system that works. If we have one that works for one part of the country, for one section of the food sector, we could do the same and mirror that for the fishing sector.

[Seamus Logan (Aberdeenshire North and Moray East) (SNP)]

Does the hon. Member agree that it might be advantageous for the administration or development of visas for these hard-pressed sectors to be devolved to the local Administrations in Scotland and Northern Ireland, for example?

[Jim Shannon]

I think it is better if it comes from Parliament but, if there is an obstruction here to bringing it forward, then yes. I hope the Minister will come back to us positively. If it can happen within regional Administrations that is something to consider, but I am very conscious of Parliament’s prominence and pre-eminence on such decisions. I would not wish to do anything that would change that position, if possible.

A further issue that needs to be looked at is an apparent attempt by the Irish Government—I am not against the Irish Government, but I must make quite clear that I am a Member of this great Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as is everyone in this room, so we understand the issues—are trying to gerrymander what counts as Irish and what counts as UK herring quota. My local fishing industry has highlighted that they have produced some extremely limited science, which the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute claims is full of holes, to support their overtures to the EU and the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. That is quite simply a transparent attempt at a smash and grab to try to recoup what they have lost through Brexit. We feel it is important to get the issue on record. My Minister and my Government in this House need to support the UK fishing fleet against that blatant EU interference.

The shock of Brexit is still felt in some EU fishing quarters. One way that has manifested is in increasingly desperate attempts by EU nations to secure UK quota through the back door. Our fishermen need that quota; we do not need to give it to anybody else. We should look after our own at home first. After having success claiming UK citizens—as the EU has also done—for their football team on the strength of very tenuous genetic links, they are now applying the same strategy to claiming herring quota. My goodness—at what limits will they stop?

I say this gently, respectfully and positively: I would appreciate if the Minister would confirm his Department is alive to EU nations using weak, inaccurate and biased science as a means to circumvent honest negotiation. Can the Minister offer reassurance to the people of Northern Ireland in the fishing sector, who work in the herring boats and processing factories, that he is not going to let other EU countries walk off with their quotas and jobs? What steps will be taken to support our industry?

For too many years the EU fishing industry made their living off our waters and our fish, while we were hampered at every turn. They now seek to abuse regulations further to dip in our pond. That must be acknowledged and dealt with. The hon. Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes is right that we need to negotiate—I understand that—but they also need to realise that this is our fish, these are our jobs and, with that in mind, negotiation has to be handled respectfully. I am respectful to the Minister because he is a decent, honest man, who does a good job. At the same time, I put forward my views in a way that, I hope, he can respect.

[Melanie Onn]

Does the hon. Gentleman think it is easier or harder to undertake those negotiations now that we have left the EU?

[Jim Shannon]

I think as I do with the Irish Government: they are our neighbours, and we have to have economic contact with them. They will not be getting Northern Ireland as part of their great united Ireland, which is their constitutional position; we oppose that, but that does not mean we cannot have working relationships with neighbours. The hon. Lady made a positive and helpful intervention, but we need to start from the level that says, “What we have is ours, and what we have we hold for our fishermen and fisherwomen.” That being the case, the best thing for us to do now is to secure our food and industry and act accordingly for the benefit of everyone throughout this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. That is what we should be doing.

--- Later in debate ---

[Daniel Zeichner]

I most certainly will. I greatly enjoyed visiting both the University of Lincoln and my hon. Friend’s constituency about a year ago, and I am sure I will be back again soon.

[Jim Shannon]

I thank the Minister for his response. The hon. Member for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East (Seamus Logan) referred to the visa issues, and I have a suggestion to help the Minister in his discussions with the Immigration Minister. The poultry and horticulture sectors have already been given seasonal worker status, and the same system would work for fishermen. I hope the Minister does not mind me pressing him on it, but will he please speak to the Immigration Minister? If he can do it for one sector, he can do it for another.

[Daniel Zeichner]

I very much hear what the hon. Gentleman is saying. The visa issues are complicated but important, and there certainly could be opportunities if we can achieve the right outcome.

The Fisheries Act 2020 set the broad outlines of where we will be going, and it and the joint fisheries statement that followed it detail the objectives for a thriving and sustainable fishing industry, which I know we all want to see. Since 2020, the UK has demonstrated its own approach to fisheries and to its role on the international stage. As an international coastal state, our relationship with the EU sits alongside our relationships with other international partners, as well as domestic partners. It is our status as an independent coastal state that gives us the right to negotiate with others in the north-east Atlantic on management measures for mackerel, blue whiting and Atlanto-Scandian herring. Those are important stocks for the UK that sadly have been overfished in recent years because of the lack of proper sharing arrangements between the coastal states. We are pushing for comprehensive quota-sharing arrangements that are in the best interests of stock sustainability and of the UK catching and processing sectors.

As hon. Members will be aware, a full and faithful implementation of the fisheries heading of the trade and co-operation agreement will see access for EU vessels to the UK zone become a matter for annual negotiation, which will sit alongside our annual consultations on catch limits with a range of coastal states and international fora on fishing opportunities. Let me repeat that our ambitions for fisheries are no longer tied to the EU common fisheries policy. We have our own objectives for our own UK fishing industry, and they are central to our priorities and to the thriving and sustainable fishing industry that we want.

As I have already said, the fisheries management plans are a key part of the way in which we intend to take the industry forward. I again pay tribute to the previous Government; they set that process in train and we are pleased to continue it. We are grateful for the support of the fishing sector and wider stakeholders in helping to shape the plans; they are being developed collaboratively with the fishing industry, and I think they are probably being looked at elsewhere around the world as an example of how best to manage the complicated trade-offs in our maritime space. The spokesperson for the Liberal Democrats, the hon. Member for South Devon (Caroline Voaden), raised the spatial squeeze issue. We are very aware of that, and we will come back to the House with proposals in the coming months and years.

The fisheries management plans will play a crucial role in supporting the long-term sustainability of fishing businesses and delivering growth in coastal communities. As I have said, they are internationally recognised as the gold standard in managing fisheries. They protect and, where necessary, set out how to maintain or restore fish stocks to sustainable levels. Progress is being made. We have now published a sixth plan and work is being done to implement actions in the previously published plans. Legislation was recently introduced that will bring into law a number of the fisheries management measures set out in those plans. As I said, we opened consultations on the next five FMPs on 10 October.

Beyond FMPs, we are putting in place a wider set of fisheries management reforms, in line with our domestic priorities as an independent coastal state. They include changes to the way we manage discards, the introduction of remote electronic monitoring, trialling new ways to allocate quota, and the opening of new fisheries, such as for bluefin tuna, which I am sure the hon. Member for Great Yarmouth will welcome. We will of course be looking at all ways to reform and best support all UK fisheries sectors to help our fishing and seafood industries thrive and contribute to economic growth and the nation’s food security.

We are also considering the role of inshore and under-10 metre fisheries, including those in my part of the world—the east of England—and how we can best support that sector. A number of initiatives we are undertaking will benefit those inshore fishers, including the provision of additional quota and new quota trials, which should help the inshore fleet in the long run. We are continuing to engage with the five regional fisheries groups that have been set up for inshore fishers to discuss concerns with policymakers and regulators to help identify problems, contribute to policy development and secure solutions.

In conclusion, the future of UK fisheries will be driven by our domestic agenda. We have domestic frameworks, including the Fisheries Act and joint fisheries statements, and policies such as the fisheries management plans that are part of the improvements we seek to make. For many years, our fisheries management was dictated by the EU common fisheries policy. That is no longer the case. Our relationship with the EU remains important and sits alongside other relationships we hold as an independent coastal state. We will continue to meet our international obligations, including those of the TCA, and the default arrangements for access after 2026 are clear. There are many opportunities ahead for our fishing sector. The Government are committed to making the most of them to secure the industry and ensure that it can best contribute to our country’s food security and economic growth, but this will be driven by our own domestic objectives.