Fishing communities are straight-up cooked unless our new government locks in
In this Viewpoint piece, Shetland Fishermen’s Association executive officer Daniel Lawson takes a look at the state of the fishing industry through a set of Gen Z eyes
Shetland fishermen have been running things different for generations. Boats are owned and crewed by Shetlanders, with everyone sharing the risks and the rewards. Crew are more than just employees – they’re often shareholders – and get equal cuts from every catch. That money then stays in Shetland, supports families and supply chain businesses, and keeps income and opportunity circulating in our community. That’s our vibe. Every pound made from fishing hits different in Shetland.
But the Scottish Government has been caught in 4k cosying up to corporations, and quietly undermining it all. Across the country we see more big corporations owning fewer but larger vessels and crewed by salaried agency staff – predominately from elsewhere. It’s giving major corporate takeover ick. It’s a red flag, or it certainly should be.
The government’s ‘economic link’ rules were supposed to make sure that Scotland benefits better from fishing, but they’ve been watered down. They now focus exclusively on landing fish into Scottish ports – fair enough, especially for the processors – but they’ve ditched any requirement to keep local crews.
That encourages the use of agency crews from overseas, instead of encouraging our own young folk to the fishing. Even in Shetland we see this corporate model of consolidation creeping in, when boats are faced with no alternatives – and no support to hold out against it.
Lowkey, it feels like Shetland’s traditional fishing model is getting ghosted by our own government.
We’ve seen this film before. Shetland’s salmon farming used to be locally owned. Now it’s owned by Norwegian and Canadian companies. They’ve exported well over a billion pounds worth of salmon from Shetland in the last ten years, yet the profit is exported as well – away from the islands to distant shareholders. The jobs are welcome, of course – and I wouldn’t care to imagine Shetland without aquaculture work – but when we consistently let the real money flow away, our communities are cooked.
Government policy needs to be on point: it needs to look beyond just tonnes of fish landed. It has to care about who actually landed those tonnes of fish, and if the profit from that fish stays here – supporting families and communities. The same is true Scotland wide. Give the family-owned fishing fleet the policy glow up that it deserves.
Our new government needs to stop side-eying Shetland, think again, and lock in on what actually matters. Bring back the economic link’s crewing requirement, stop throwing shade, and help hype up Shetland’s fishing fleet for understanding the assignment: fish catching, with community at its core.
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