It's often stated by politicians that the fishing industry voted for Brexit in order to escape from the EU fishing quotas. This ignores the voices of the smaller fishermen, who are fishing in a much more sustainable way and are often based in rural communities. Alasdair Macleod was strongly anti-Brexit and it seems many fishermen like him round the UK feel the same way. Their interests and opinions must be taken into account in the chaos of the negotiations. The powerful voice of the SFF, which represents the big industrial boats in Scotland, must not be allowed to prevail.
There is an opportunity here for a new approach to fishing policy, which enables the creation of a sustainable fishing industry, managed locally by people who take responsibility for ensuring the stocks remain healthy.
Please listen to the fishermen from round the UK (including lots of locals) speaking out in this film and if you are able to support them in any way, please do so, even if it's just to challenge the oft quoted claim that Brexit will benefit the UK fishing fleet.
Small-scale fishers make up the majority of the 12,000 fishers in the UK, but often don't have a voice in decision-making. So this summer, we travelled to ports around the UK to talk to them and others and industry about Brexit, and their hopes for the future of UK fishing.
Film courtesy of the New Economics Foundation.
