Scampi under threat unless visa rules on foreign trawler workers relaxed – MP
A fish and chip shop favourite could be at risk of being lost from the nation’s plates unless the Government allows more foreign worker fishermen to work for UK firms.
Scarborough and Whitby MP Alison Hume warned of the dangers for lovers of scampi as foreign workers will no longer be able to get worker visas to fish out of ports like Kilkeel in Northern Ireland.
Ms Hume, who is the chairwoman of a parliamentary group of coastal community MPs, said nearly three-quarters of workers out of the County Down port were on foreign worker visas.
In her own Yorkshire constituency, she said jobs were under threat at Whitby Seafood, which produces frozen and chilled seafood for supermarkets and caterers.
The company claims it is the largest scampi factory in the world.
She called for action on visas to help “save” the scampi industry.
Speaking about the threat to the breaded and battered langoustines in the Commons, Ms Hume said: “Unfortunately jobs at Whitby Seafood, the country’s largest scampi supplier to caterers, remain at risk, and that’s because, as the minister knows, around 70% of crews who operate out of Kilkeel who catch the nephrops or scampi are foreign workers who will no longer qualify under the new visa rules from the end of this year.
“While efforts to hire more domestic workers are under way, a small number of bespoke seasonal visas could save the scampi industry, and will my honourable friend redouble his efforts to work with colleagues to secure a solution and protect these jobs in Northern Ireland and Whitby.”
In 2023, Ms Hume’s predecessor Sir Robert Goodwill made a similar call, as he said one company was reliant on workers from the Philippines and could go out of business due to visa changes under the then-Conservative government.
Democratic Unionist Party MP Jim Shannon (Strangford), whose constituency is near the port of Kilkeel, pointed to difficulties faced by family-owned trawlers.
Mr Shannon called for a solution to allow fleets in Portavogie, Ardglass and Kilkeel to “permanently” be in a position to fish, and said he had met with immigration ministers.
Northern Ireland minister Matthew Patrick said Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn had visited Kilkeel earlier this year.
Mr Patrick said: “Immigration changes are designed to ensure our domestic workforce has access to good jobs, and the Secretary of State has written to the Home Secretary about this issue.”