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The Scottish fishing industry is protesting Boris Johnson’s Brexit trade deal in Whitehall today.
Footage this morning showed ten large trucks driving through central London adorned with slogans showing their annoyance after problems exporting fish to the EU.
One truck was emblazoned with “Brexit Carnage”, while another said “Incompetent Government Destroying Shellfish Industry”, as they parked up just metres from Downing Street.
Others had their business logos proudly displayed amid claims the sector could collapse and that fish prices have plummeted due to the bureaucracy that has left fish rotting at the border.
Exports of fresh fish and seafood have been severely disrupted by delays since the UK’s transition period ended on December 31.
Some Scottish fishermen have been landing their catch in Denmark to avoid the “bureaucratic system” that exports to Europe now involve.
On land, lorries transporting freshly-caught produce have been held up at distribution hubs and many have struggled to enter into France – a situation which First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described as “shameful and disgraceful”.
Jimmy Buchan, chief executive of the Scottish Seafood Association, said last week: “The industry in Scotland has basically ground to a halt and businesses that employ hundreds of people in communities around our coastline are losing money.
“In some cases they are close to going under. It is time for our governments to get a grip of what is now a full-blown crisis, and fast, before severe and lasting damage is done to the sector.”
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab claimed the delays to fishing exports were just “teething problems.”
Luke Pollard MP, Labour’s shadow environment secretary, responded to Mr Raab’s comments, said: “The Government should stop blaming the fishing industry and start taking responsibility for the mess it has created by its own incompetence.”
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