Fishermen relaxed about Gove comment

FISHERMEN’s leaders in Scotland don’t appear to be worried after UK food and rural affairs secretary Michael Gove confirmed that Danish fishermen would still be able to catch large amounts of fish in UK waters after Brexit.

While UKIP immediately accused the Tory minister of “beginning to sell out” to the EU and some tabloids saw Gove as undermining the livelihood of UK fishermen, the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation reacted with a simple statement on its Facebook page.

Association chief executive Bertie Armstrong said the key point was that the UK would have control of access, which at the moment is something it doesn’t have.

“It is clear from our meetings with the government that control over our waters will be in our hands after Brexit,” he said.

“We will be out of the Common Fisheries Policy and we will decide who fishes where and for what. Our position is straightforward: we must have first call on quota.”