Standing up for our fishing communities
Scottish Liberal Democrat MPs and MSPs have always stood up for our fishing communities. Every vote for a Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate at the General Election is a vote for an MP who will be a local champion for fishers and coastal communities.
Opposing the SNP/Green proposals for Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs)
Scottish Liberal Democrats opposed the SNP/Green’s top-down proposals for Highly Protected Marine Areas every step of the way.
Protecting our seas has to be done in lockstep with coastal, island and fishing communities. Instead, the Scottish Government failed to listen to those communities, lacked a solid scientific basis and moved away from developing marine protections in partnership with the fishing industry. It undermined confidence and trust in the government.
Fish Farming Expert, 1st May 2023
[Liberal Democrat MSPs Liam McArthur, Beatrice Wishart and MP Alistair Carmichael]
The Fishing Daily, 7th November 2023
Clearly, we need a better approach. If the government’s plan is to just wait a while and then try again then it will rightly be met with the same opposition.
That’s why Scottish Liberal Democrats will rule out Highly Protected Marine Areas in our manifesto.
You may have seen Conservative scaremongering about Liberal Democrat support for Marine Protected Areas.
Don’t believe them.
Marine Protected Areas are a devolved matter, and Scottish Liberal Democrats take the interests of our fishing and coastal communities very seriously.
Liberal Democrats in England have had long-standing commitments to introduce Marine Protected Areas - but unlike the SNP’s proposals for HPMAs these areas would always be created in partnership with English coastal and fishing communities, helping rebuild our fishing stocks, rather than threatening communities.
What our coastal communities also desperately need across Scotland, Wales and England is an end to the routine sewage dumping into our seas. It potentially harms shellfish, causing e.coli and norovirus to be found in oysters and mussels which the industry has to foot the bill to clean up.
Scottish Liberal Democrats will oppose any attempts by the SNP to bring back their plans for HPMAs, and we will work in close cooperation and consultation with those vital fishing, coastal and island communities on marine management to ensure the viability of our fishing industry while protecting our natural environment.
As we work to manage the seas that surround these islands, we will make sure that we bring fishing communities with us, and give them the fair deal they deserve.