A spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Conservatives, Paul Leeman, has challenged the fisheries’ minister Michelle O’Neill to explain why she refused to meet representatives of the UK fishing authority, Seafish, and threatened to cut the organisation out of Northern Ireland’s fishing industry entirely. The body promotes and supports the whole seafood industry, including catchers, processors and distributors.
“The minister certainly has serious questions to answer”, notes Paul, who is an experienced commercial fisherman. “The letter to Seafish which I’ve seen suggests that she is motivated by politics rather than the best interests of the seafood industry. She claims that she wants Northern Ireland to be exempt from the current legislative structure and would prefer local arrangements, which encompass all food and drink and include an “all island dimension”. She also makes it perfectly clear that she envisages no role for Seafish at all.”
“That might suit Sinn Féin’s political purposes but it will create widespread concern across the fishing and seafood industries. Seafish has provided an important source of support, promotion and funding, tailored specifically for fishing and seafood. There will be understandable anxiety that no organisation charged with promoting all types of food and drink will be able to offer the level of specialist expertise and resources provided by Seafish.”
“The minister needs to spell out right now whether she consulted with the seafood industry, before cutting Seafish out of her future strategy. She has to set out detailed plans, explaining the alternative structures which will provide help, support and promotion for catchers, aquaculturalists, processors, retailers and exporters in Northern Ireland.”
“The First Minister and his DUP colleagues should also explain how they are keeping a handle on this situation. Or are Sinn Féin ministers being allowed to run amok within their own departments, dismantling UK structures which work well, in order to pursue their all-Ireland agenda? There are some very real concerns here around accountability and about ministers acting in the best interests of Northern Ireland. We need some answers very quickly.”