THE UK minister responsible for fishing rights has been urged to explain why a Scottish vessel was detained in France.
A Scottish shellfish trawler was detained at a French port amid accusations that it had been fishing in France's waters without a proper licence.
The Scottish-registered vessel Cornelis Gert Jan was detained in the northern French port of Le Havre last week and was released on Wednesday as the boat was caught up in a row over post-Brexit fishing rights between the UK and France.
The boat's skipper, Irish national Jondy Ward (below), said that French maritime police detained the Cornelis for not being on a European register.
READ MORE: Captain of Scottish boat held over fishing row appears in French court
Now, George Eustice, the UK's Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary is being asked to state why the boat dropped off the UK Government list of vessels with a licence to fish in external waters.
In a letter to Eustice, Deidre Brock MP (below), the SNP's shadow Defra secretary, said that the fishing industry is being treated as "collateral damage" in the dispute "caused by the UK Government".
The letter also clarifies that the responsibility for issuing licenses lies with the Marine Management Organisation and not Marine Scotland - therefore it is Defra’s responsibility to determine whether that licence was on the list or not.
Brock said: “This is another example of Scotland paying the price for a Brexit we didn't vote for - and once again it is our fishing industry that is collateral damage in a dispute caused by the UK Government.
"A week has passed and still the UK Government is unable to provide us with answers as to why the scalloper seems to have dropped off the list of licensed vessels.
"The UK Government has been all over the place on this issue - unaware of their responsibilities and issuing the wrong information. That was absolutely not good enough when we had a Scottish scalloper and crew detained in France. The Secretary of State must clarify immediately what caused this problem in the first place.
"Fishers still don’t know if incidents like this could happen again, forcing them to reconsider visits to their usual fishing grounds in what would normally be a busy pre-Christmas period, and increasing the anxiety and concern they already have for their livelihoods following Brexit.
"The fear is that this incident is being used to distract from tough upcoming fish negotiations, from the prospect of empty shelves at Christmas and as a straw man to excuse fights with the EU."
She added that the debacle is "just another kick in the teeth for Scotland's fishing industry" after the Tories guaranteed a "sea of opportunity" following Brexit. She said that all Scotland sees is a "sea of anguish".
READ MORE: Impounded British fishing trawler arrives in UK after being released by France
UK fisheries envoy and Banff and Buchan MP David Duguid said: “It is entirely predictable that the SNP have sought to turn recent events towards their obsession with constitutional matters, instead of seeking to support our fishing and seafood industry.
“Because this case is under investigation, I am limited to what I can say specifically but I am glad to see the scalloper and its crew have been released. ”
A Defra spokeswoman said: “Control and enforcement of vessels is a routine activity and we have condemned the action taken by the French in this case.
“As this case is subject to ongoing legal proceedings, we are unable to comment further.”
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