Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance his Department has issued to Scottish live seafood exporters on preparations in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Delivering a deal with the EU remains our top priority, but as with any responsible Government, we are planning for all scenarios.

To continue exporting to the EU if the UK leaves without a deal, UK seafood exporters would need to provide a catch certificate and an export health certificate for most fish and fish products. We have published detailed guidance on the gov.uk website and have held several events nationally to help the industry prepare to abide by these rules imposed by the EU. These events have included demonstrations of the IT systems which exporters would need to use, and the processes they would have to follow in the event of leaving the EU without a deal.

Fisheries management is a devolved matter. That will not change as a result of leaving the EU. The UK Government has worked closely with the Scottish Government, as well as the Welsh Government and DAERA, to ensure consistency and help prepare the sector as a whole.