Seamus Logan MP was delighted to welcome the new UK Government Fisheries Minister, Stephen Morgan MP, to Peterhead this week.
The Aberdeenshire North and Moray East MP had invited the previous Minister, Dame Angela Eagle, to Scotland and his constituency in particular, as an opportunity to visit the local fishing and farming sector. Dame Angela is now Secretary of State for DEFRA and as her successor, Mr Morgan was pleased to accept Mr Logan’s warm invitation.
A tour of Peterhead Fish Market and the new extended facilities there during the daily fishing auctions was arranged by the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) for the Minister and his team, as well as a tour of a state-of-the-art pelagic shipping vessel at the harbour with the Scottish Pelagic Fishing Association.
Commenting on the visit, Seamus Logan said:
“I am very pleased that the UK Fisheries Minister accepted my invitation to visit my constituency this week and I was delighted to join him to meet with local fishing industry representatives to listen to their concerns and to observe firsthand some of the innovations and developments in this vital sector.
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“Constructive discussions were had on issues facing the fishing industry here in the North-east, as well as showcasing the new extended facilities at Peterhead Fish Market. My thanks to Marshall Birnie, Fishing Business Unit Manager at the market for his informative tour and insight into the huge numbers and variety of freshly caught fish that pass through on a daily basis to destinations across the globe, and to Elspeth Macdonald, CEO at the SFF for her organisation of this visit.
“Thanks too to the Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association, their CEO, Ian Gatt, and former Chairman, Alex Wiseman, who treated myself, the Minister, and his team, to a tour around their impressive state of the art ship, the Artemis, highlighting the techniques and technology used to keep their catch as fresh and high quality as possible as it is delivered from sea to plate. I was also pleased to meet the new Designate CEO for the SPFA, Hannah Fennel, at this visit, who will take over from Ian Gatt when he retires in the next year.
“Importantly, I was impressed to see how engaged the Minister was during this visit and his willingness to take on board the issues raised as well as an appreciation of the skill and innovations of our proud and historic fishing sector here in the North-east. I hope to follow up constructive discussions with the Minister on quotas, the Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund and labour shortages due to changes to immigration rules when Parliament returns.”
