A FORMER North-East skipper has warned the Scottish fishing industry must “wake up” to what the Brexit fall-out means for the sector.

John Buchan, who lives in Peterhead, decided to speak out amid growing uncertainty as to what impact leaving the European Union could have on the community.

Fishermen have long refuted being part of the 1970s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Buchan was a seventh generation skipper until he retired five years ago.

He said: “Having seen huge changes over a lifetime working in the fishing industry, I feel pretty well qualified to talk about the last 40 years, and what the future might hold.

“Over the years I’ve been as critical of the CFP as the next man. It’s deeply flawed, and at times it’s made life extremely difficult for all of us trying to earn a living from the sea.

“But every fisherman knows, if we’re honest, the CFP isn’t to blame for all the changes and challenges we’ve experienced in the industry.

“The contraction of the sector, the concentration in fewer hands — these same trends are evident in commercial fleets outside the CFP, and have been driven more by technological changes, market forces, and the state of fish stocks than by anything else.

“There’s a similar story all over the world of bigger and fewer boats, with more mechanisation and greater efficiency, catching for a global market.”

Buchan said nearly two-thirds of the fish caught by UK boats is destined for export markets, with over 70 per cent going to EU countries.

Meanwhile a “significant portion” is exported to other parts of the world under EU trade deals.

He added: “It would be downright reckless to jeopardise that essential market in a naïve belief that it will be easy to find alternatives.

“Everyone would like to see the Scottish fleet get a fairer share of the fish stocks in our EEZ, but if we can’t get our fish to market, it makes no difference how much quota we’re allowed to catch.

“I suspect the sober heads in the industry know this, as do processors who export high value species to the EU and can see the writing on the wall. I’ve heard it said that premium products like top quality Scottish langoustine will find its way to market because of demand.

“The problem is that it won’t be prime quality if it’s had to sit several days in a lorry at Calais, or in a customs warehouse, waiting to be cleared.

“In my view, it’s not tariffs that will make life really difficult for exporters, it’s the other barriers the EU puts in place for third countries: added bureaucracy, expensive certification processes and, above all, long customs delays.

“If they want to make problems for us, they will. The Danes, who fish extensively in our waters, are already threatening legal action and restrictions on UK fish imports to the EU. They have a lot at stake, and no-one should see that as an idle threat.

“Leaving the CFP could have presented opportunities, but by leaving the single market instead of seeking a Norwegian style deal, the UK risks a massive own goal.”

He said he was sorry the compromise proposals put forward by the Scottish Government a few months ago, that would have sought to negotiate membership of EFTA or the EEA, were dismissed so quickly by the UK.