Scottish Fishing Minister Richard Lochhead has pledged to spend European cash on helping entrants to the fishing industry buy their first boats.
He told the Press and Journal the Scottish Government was keen to see part of its near-£80million share of UK money from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) being used to support young fishers.
But Scotland should have had a much bigger sum to spend on helping the industry than its 1.9% share of the total European Union funding pot for 2014-20, as it has 8% of the EU catch, he said.
Mr Lochhead said EMFF cash would also “provide support to help with training and acquiring new professional skills, particularly linked to sustainable management, hygiene, safety, maritime activities, innovation and entrepreneurship”.
The comments came after Scots Tory MEP Ian Duncan urged Mr Lochhead to tap a £24.5million pot of cash – the UK’s 2015 allocation from the EMFF – to provide support to young fishers and new entrants to the industry.
In the letter, Mr Duncan – a former deputy chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation – said: “We must do more to improve the industry’s ability to attract and retain young fishermen and women.
“As a career path, fishing faces tough competition from the oil and gas industry which, until very recently, was a sector notorious for offering better wages and wage security.
“You and I both know that if we are to protect the long-term health of our fishing industry, we need to work with both young people and the fishing organisations to encourage young people to consider a fishing career.”
The letter follows hot-on-the heels of the Aberdeenshire launch of a pilot scheme – the first of its kind – offering school leavers a three-week introduction to fishing.
Mr Duncan wrote: “The hope is that this course will give young people an insight into the fishing industry as well as other maritime-based careers and ensure the continual flow of new entrants.
“I hope that the Scottish Government will back schemes like this in other parts of Scotland.
“Failure to address the low entry levels of new, young fishermen and the increasing dependency on foreign workers runs the long-term risk of leaving our Scottish fishing industry depleted of the next generation of fishers.”
He added: “The EMFF provides financial support to fishermen and women under the age of 40 to assist them in buying their first vessel.
“Although crucial, this financial support is only one piece of the jigsaw puzzle that is the challenge of how we are to attract new entrants into the fishing industry.
“We must ensure that Scottish fishermen secure the vital funds available. The UK will receive 33million euros (£24.5million) of EMFF Funding in 2015, and I would like to work with you to make sure as much of that as possible goes to help young fishermen and women enter the industry in Scotland.
“It would be a travesty if young fishermen and women missed out due to a lack of awareness.”