Working Away

In the last week we have seen the formation of the United Fishing Industry Alliance. Pushed through against all the odds by those remarkable women – the Cod Crusaders – it has brought a wide spectrum of our industry together for the first time in many years.

And the Scottish Parliament played a significant role. It provided the neutral territory upon which the founding meeting could take place.

In our temporary accommodation in Edinburgh, we use a range of meeting rooms scattered around the Parliament. On this occasion it was the Quaker Meeting House. Entirely appropriate as they are people of peace.

And the meeting marked the breaking out of peace in fishing. Not just in Scotland. With Northern Irish and South-West English interests present too, it represents a formidable campaigning body.

The Scottish Government – the Scottish Executive – seems to recognise that too.

Three phone calls from Ross Finnie’s office to me apologising for his non-attendance at the meeting speak volumes about their sitting up and taking notice of the Alliance.

And with my colleague Alex Salmond’s Bill to abolish the EU’s Common Fishing Policy’s hold over our industry gaining support across Westminster, a genuine chink of light for fishing’s future is glinting hopefully.

But as I write, the junior coalition government partners – the Liberals – remain firmly split – internally and from their voters.

A weekend with his constituents seems not to have persuaded Tavish Scott that Shetland’s dependence on fish matters more than his Ministerial career. After his tergiversation – a wonderful word that means swinging from one opinion to another – Scott seems after perhaps as many as 3 different positions to have settled on the one that will cause him most long term trouble – support for the CFP.

This puts him at odds with his party membership who support the abolition of the EU’s control of our fishings. And against his 10,000 constituents who have signed a petition.

Just as our fishermen sail dangerous waters each working day so the Liberals have chosen a politically fraught path.

The representations at the door of Ross Finnie – Fisheries Minister in the Scots Government – grow larger.

He has had many meetings in the run up to the EU Fisheries Council in mid-December.

The Adjournment Debate in Westminster on 11th November, did not suggest that he will have the whole-hearted support of Ben Bradshaw – the Labour man now carrying the poisoned chalice of Fisheries Minister in that place.

Despite a very limited familiarity with our industry – he even referred the Scottish Fishermen’s Association when he meant the Federation – he stuck doggedly to the line that has failed us in the past. Despite the success of the Faroes and Iceland – who manage their own waters – he blames our fishermen and not the EU CFP for any current crisis.

Our hope is that the improving scientific reports will sway the day.

But the fishing industry does not all exist offshore.

Many more are employed in our factories turning out what our shops and supermarkets need.

And a recent analysis of 2001 Scottish census figures could suggest that we are doing fairly well. Or are we?

As a Parliamentary Constituency we have 63% of our people working. That is above the Scottish average of 60.6%. But the crunch comes when we look at what they doing.

We are in the bottom 10% when it comes to the type of jobs. We are a quarter higher than the Scottish number who work in ‘elementary jobs’ – jobs not requiring a high degree of skill. And we are in the bottom 10% for people employed as managers or senior officials.

And with 13.3% of our population holding degree – across Scotland it is 19.5% - we are less well educated by a long margin.

So it is very welcome to see Banff and Buchan College rising to the challenge.

I was with them for the launch of their Modern Apprenticeship course in fishing. A small but enthusiastic group of young men told me that they are enjoying the course enormously. And looking forward to getting to sea in our much depleted fishing fleet.

But the 10 on the course does not compare with the 60 or so there would have been a few years ago.

If there are not the mates and skippers in years to come, then it will not be the EU that does us down, it will be our inability to crew our boats.

I hope that when Fisheries Minister Ross Finnie came up here to launch the course he recognised the vital need for a vibrant industry in years to come.

Otherwise these young people’s efforts will be for naught. And like many before them their working life will be spent elsewhere.

We cannot afford to all be working away instead of working here in our communities.