MP calls for help-to-buy scheme for boats
A “help to buy” scheme for fishing boats could secure the industry’s future, a Labor MP has suggested.
South East Cornwall MP Anna Gelderd also called for funding for educational pathways and warned that communities in her constituency are “declining”.
“Not just with the massive reduction in the number of ships, but also with how difficult it is to provide for them and support their families and communities like mine,” he told the House of Commons.
During a discussion of the fishing industry, he continued: “If we are serious about the future of fishing, we must make it accessible for the next generation.
“Young people currently cannot set foot on a fishing boat until the age of 16, even though this is the best age to learn practical skills.
“We also lack the structural support, the mentoring, that allows traditional knowledge, safety rules and best practices to be passed on between generations.
“Purchase plans for boats, licenses and quotas, assistance with licenses and quotas, as well as a properly funded mentoring and training pathway, will make fishing a realistic career again rather than a closed shop.”
MPs also warned that fishing companies could be severely affected if overseas recruitment rules end in December; Labor MP for Na h-Eileanan Iar, Torcuil Crichton, warned that his constituency would be “significantly affected”.
Mr Crichton said his constituency on Scotland’s west coast had been affected by population decline, leading to a shortage of working age people.
The then Conservative government introduced changes in 2023 to make it easier for fishing boats to recruit fishermen, captains and deckhands from overseas due to labor shortages.
He said: “The Government’s support in relaxing these requirements is appreciated and the impact is clear.
“I was contacted recently by a captain from the Western Isles who said that while seven years ago he had a local crew of seven, he now had to employ three crew from Ghana and his son, and now he captains back to back fishing at every opportunity and makes sure he pays the foreign crew the correct wages, which are far more than what he and his son take home.”
Democratic Unionist Party MP for Strangford Jim Shannon said the “cliff edge” in skilled worker visas in December was “really worrying” for the industry in his constituency.
He said: “The fishing industry needs a dedicated immigration pathway for fishing crews post-2026, preferably in the form of special visas.
“This will protect British businesses, while the recruitment drive aims to provide more domestic labor for the fishing industry in the long term.”
Seamus Logan, the SNP MP for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East, said Home Office visa restrictions were “stifling the growth of fishing in Scotland”.
He requested the minister to lobby the Ministry of Internal Affairs so that industries in his region can develop.
“Please don’t try to tell us we have to hire local people,” he said.
“This legendary workforce sitting at home twiddling their thumbs simply does not exist, because in my constituency we are at full employment and efforts to recruit young people into this sector are simply not working.”
Food security minister Dame Angela Eagle said recruiting staff for the fishing industry was “difficult”.
“Entering the sector requires serious investments,” he said.
“The ability to change and adapt in this context is very important, and fisheries have a good track record of doing that.”
As for the visa issue, Dame Angela promised the industry’s concerns would be “properly represented” to Home Office ministers.
