The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation has welcomed the ‘breathing space’ provided by the Home Office with support from the Scottish Government over the employment of non-European Economic Area fishing crew.
The issue is of crucial importance to the Scottish fishing industry, given that it has been unable to supply all its crewing needs either from local recruitment or from EEA countries.
Bertie Armstrong SFF chief executive, said: “We are working as hard as possible with the Scottish Government to reinvigorate recruitment to the industry, but fishing is not for everyone and the process will take time.
“Some areas – in particular the West coast and some more remote areas have a special problem. We therefore call upon the Home Office with Scottish Government assistance to look urgently at the rules governing non-EEA entry to ensure that our needs are met in the short term.
“We will produce the evidence of our situation and we believe that a sensible solution is achievable. The UK Border Agency has indicated, both by providing the breathing space and in communication with the SFF that they are prepared to listen.”
