Prime Minister Theresa May listened to Banff and Buchan MP David Duguid make the case for a unique Brexit deal for the fishing industry during a Downing Street meeting.
Mr Duguid held talks with Scottish Conservative MPs as well as Conservatives representing coastal constituencies in England.
The Banff and Buchan MP urged the prime minister to ensure the UK leaves the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) immediately at the point of Brexit on March 29, 2019, and secure a nine-month transition period in order to enter talks in December 2019 as an independent coastal state.
“I was very pleased to be given the opportunity to make my case directly to the prime minister,” he said.
“Fishing is a vital and totemic industry, not just for Scotland, but for the whole of the UK.
“Confirming support for the bridge period would be visible and popular evidence that we had actually left the EU and that there are tangible benefits to Brexit.
“The fishing industry must be granted unique and special status in the Brexit negotiations.
“Coastal communities the length and breadth of our United Kingdom have suffered long enough.”
Moray MP Douglas Ross was also able to share his views with Mrs May.
He said: “It was useful to sit down with the prime minister and express the views I am receiving from fishing communities in Moray.
Speaking in a Westminster debate on the future of the UK fishing industry later the same day, West Aberdeen and Kincardine MP Andrew Bowie said a forthcoming Fisheries Bill would be able to set out the way forward for the industry.
“I am looking forward to the forthcoming Fisheries Bill, which will lay the groundwork for all of these exciting opportunities,” he said.
“The Brexit vote has led to great optimism in the Scottish fishing industry, and with good reason.
“Brexit offers a whole host of opportunities for reviving our fisheries and our coastal communities in general.
“It now falls to us to deliver for them.”
