MSP, fish and independence

Christian Allard, the French-born MSP for Scotland’s North East, took a French TV crew to Peterhead Fish Market last week. He said, ‘Although I have been many times in the past, this was my first visit to the Blue Toon’s Fish Market as a Regional Member of the Scottish Parliament.’

Mr Allard, who worked in the fishing industry for many years, is keenly aware of its value to the Scottish economy, and recently asked the First Minister to consider a publicly accessible register for fishing quota allocations, holdings and transactions. He said, ‘This should be the first step to regaining control of Scotland’s fishing rights from Westminster,’ and added, ‘The First Minister agreed that successive Westminster Governments have failed to protect the interests of Scotland’s fishing industry in the North East.’