Carmichael’s challenge to help fishermen in isles
Kevin Craigens
Orkney and Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael challenged ministers to offer a clear roadmap on making a workable visa scheme for skilled deckhands.
Mr Carmichael led a parliamentary debate on post-Brexit fisheries today (Thursday), where he raised a number of issues, including quota, the unsustainable practice of gillnetting and the current cost of living crisis.
The isles MP said “reliable” and “sensible” solutions are needed. While he used examples from the isles to make his point.
He said: “All of this goes without mentioning the most immediate problem of inflation and the cost of living, which has hit fishermen as hard as anyone.
“Just this week I have heard that some smaller operators in my constituency have made the difficult decision to step away from the industry as they simply could not make the sums add up.
“That experience is likely to be replicated across the country and if we are not careful then short term challenges risk turning into long-term economic scarring for the fishing industry.
“It is up to the minister to set out what steps the government is taking to avoid this.”
