Navigating the “spatial squeeze”: The threatened state of Scotland’s fishing industry throughout net-zero targets.
As COP28 represents the prominence of the decarbonisation of oil and gas, the shift towards renewables remains underrepresented throughout international GDP. A balance between the roadmap to net-zero, transition and the navigation of the Northeast's f…
As COP28 represents the prominence of the decarbonisation of oil and gas, the shift towards renewables remains underrepresented throughout international GDP. A balance between the roadmap to net-zero, transition and the navigation of the Northeast's fishing industry.
SFF
As the UK quickly approaches a general election, the questions are many about how to best tackle the issues to secure a better future. A vast distance away from Westminster, in Scotland, many policies will often be seen to revolve around the oil and gas sector. Perhaps also now more than ever, the focus will be on the shift towards renewable energy. Yet, in the Northeast of Scotland, there are long- standing traditions of a strong local fishing industry. Described as a "lifeblood to the Scottish economy", the fisheries of the Northeast bring in millions in revenue
each year. However, due to the financial success of the oil and gas industry, the continuation of new oil and gas licenses remains prominent. In November last year, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak approved over 100 new offshore licences in the North Sea. As fishermen face the early morning markets after braving the sea, the fishing industry of the Northeast of Scotland has a rich history and a strong sense of heritage.
The importance of ports
The sun rises on Peterhead, a traditional Aberdeenshire fishing town. The port here is a bustling one that brings in millions of pounds each year with its landings. In 2021, Scotland's fishing industry earned £321 million, 0.21% of the Scottish economy, according to the Scottish Government. While the Northeast's fishing industry offers a "lifeblood" to its surrounding communities, all landings made within Aberdeen arrive at smaller harbours: Stonehaven, Catterline, Gourdon, Johnshaven, Montrose and Arbroath. As of 2023, 19% of Scotland's seafood processing industry is based in Aberdeenshire. However, fishing still serves a fundamental part in the Northeast, particularly throughout Peterhead and Fraserburgh. The port of Peterhead has been described as Scotland's largest port, not just in the UK, but in Europe as well, boasting fundamental international ties. This builds a strong reliance on not only the catch of fish, but the processing of it too, building the whole fishing supply chain. One who has experienced this effort first-hand is Banffshire and Buchan Coast's MSP Karen Adam. She says: "Our ports and harbours are places where lots of business and local economics happen. We're talking tens of millions of pounds."
While impressive for just one port, these numbers are overshadowed by another industry that brings in billions instead, a circulation which has defined the Northeast for decades. The Scottish oil and gas sector, mainly headquartered in and around Aberdeen city, was reported to have accounted for almost 12% of the nation's total GDP in 2022 with an estimated revenue of over £25 billion. As a result, the huge corporations that offer Scotland a thriving economy have a strong presence throughout the region. From giant Apache having their name plastered on donated coffee machines at one of the city's socially conscious cafés to the council-run art museum's top floor being funded by and named after BP; Aberdeen has a lot to thank the oil drilling in the North Sea for. Yet, creamy lattes and modern flagship art installation spaces are not the only things that have been brought to the region because oil was first pumped from the North Sea and commercialised in 1976. Aberdeen, throughout its pivotal role in the oil and gas industry, has been defined as "essential" for an energy transition.
Peterhead Harbour. SFF
"Oil and gas has been in this industry for 50 years, technology moves on, the way we work is shifting too wide, too dramatically, the workforce has shifted. We already are pretty good at transitioning, then we get, the upward and downward cycles in the industries of oil prices high and oil prices low. So, we continuously have to change how we work," adds Paul de Leeuw, Professor of Aberdeen's Robert Gordon University (RGU) and Director of RGU's Energy Transition Institute. As of 2019, the same year the UK pledged net-zero, 61% of Scotland's energy was from renewable sources. Jordan Harkins, Head of Communications at the Port of Aberdeen expands: "There is an important role to be played by Aberdeen, both in the maintenance, assembly and integration process of wind farms." Since building the south harbour, the port predicts the assembly and integration of 3000 wind turbines off the coast of Scotland.
Work for the Northeast
According to 4C's Global Offshore Wind Farm Map and Database, as of 2022, there are over 41 wind farms in the North Sea. Wind energy, described as "pivotal" for transition, offers an avenue throughout the Northeast for renewable energy. "The UK is extraordinarily blessed because we have energy on our doorstep in the North Sea," says de Leeuw. To cap the European Union's (EU) reliance on Russian gas and fundamentally reduce emissions from the burning of CO2 fossil fuels, the EU has made the collective aim to transition towards renewable energy. In 2023, nine European countries agreed to collectively multiply by eight times the capacity of offshore wind farms throughout the North Sea prior to 2050 climate targets.
"As we go through the transition window over time, how do you make sure you minimise your emissions and maximise your energy security, that's the kind of balance governments need to make sure of," adds de Leeuw. The further negotiation of 'a just transition' in full effect is up to the balancing act of each individual country, opted in to reach net-zero and deter global warming by 1.5oC.
The North Sea is pivotal within this, currently described as a "spatial squeeze" by Scottish National Party (SNP) MSP Karen Adam, housing wind turbines, oil and gas rigs and fishermen within its waters. The role of the oil and gas industry within Aberdeen forms a nucleus to the region, defining prosperity, the local economy, communities and its workforce.
Port of Aberdeen
"The decline of the oil and gas industry has hit quite hard regarding jobs in Aberdeen itself. So, the downturn of oil and gas has had quite a dramatic effect." According to trade organisation OEUK, more than 68,500 Aberdeen City jobs are supported by the oil and gas industry. "If the offshore energy industry doesn't work, then the Northeast of Scotland is hugely challenged," asserts de Leeuw. The necessity of transition towards net-zero presents a unique possibility for Scotland to not only redefine the region but also announce itself as a leader in developing technology, global collaboration and the creation of jobs. "While it is a huge part of the local economy, it is also a great opportunity," says de Leeuw who recently published the 'Making the Switch' report defining the new era of the Northeast.
Multi-functioning vessels
"Since the start of the millennium we have now used 568 different fishing boats for doing alternative work.", Steven Alexander of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation (SFF) says. Alexander joined in on the mission towards better conditions for Scottish trade fishing in 1996. Today, he is the Managing Director of SFF Services and Marine Environmental Solutions. "It is not what perhaps you would do in a normal company. But what we have done is quite unique," Alexander continues. He explains that the trade organisation offers vessels that usually fish the chance of a new form of income when their usual fishing becomes inaccessible due to offshore developments. As Scotland houses over 18,000 kilometres of coastline, the sea has always held an integral part in Scotland's history. MSP Adam explains the tradition of fishing throughout the Northeast: "The most historical aspect would be the fishing industry. Peterhead, for example, my constituency, has one of the largest fish markets in the whole of Europe. It brings in millions of pounds to the economy, to the whole UK economy, from just the landings in Peterhead."
The balance between deep sea drilling and fishing throughout the North Sea has led to the renegotiation of fishing areas, disrupting incomes for fishermen and the patterns within which they can fish. Alexander of SFF explains, "if a new pipeline is going in, you are going to have your fishing disrupted." Through this, the Scottish Government has guaranteed an income for fishermen who might have struggled otherwise. Andrew Innes, a qualified skipper and marine pilot, was a fisherman throughout the North Sea for 25 years before becoming an industry advisor at SFF. Innes has used this service for his own vessels, describing this as a useful aid, a substitute for an income when there is construction work. Innes remembers the cod recovery plan of the early 2000s. "There was not a lot of cod and the guys' fishing quotas were heavily restricted. The number of days that they could fish at sea was restricted. But during that period, it kind of tied in with quite a lot of new developments happening on the oil and gas scene. So, it actually worked out well", Innes contemplates. He finalises: "The guys that would have been stuck in port without a wage, we instead were able to use for this alternative work."
"We want to fish."
Yet, as Innes is consciously aware, many fishermen will only use this service out of necessity and simply due to restricted access. As expected, their main goal will always be to fish. Alexander, his colleague, acknowledges this too and says: "As a fishing federation, you're hoping fishing improves and the guys are fishing." Explaining what it is like when there is really good fishing, Alexander laughs: "If we were to walk up to the fishermen and ask if they wanted an oil job, all you would see is the dust off their heels as they are running away." Perhaps part light- hearted joke, part truth, the fact remains that the fishing industry wants to continue what they have done since the start.
SFF
As many weave the fishing industry as part of their family history, today's fishermen are often the children of many generations that have continued the legacy. An example is Innes himself, who can count both his great-grandfather and grandfather to his decades-spanning fishing roots. He says: "This is a family- run business so there's always going to be a generation to follow on." Due to this and his long industry experience, he adds a personal, first-hand perspective to some of the issues of morale facing the fishing sector. He continues: "Fishermen have always seen the government using fishing as a pawn. It's like, right, we can give the French access to our waters in exchange for this. It's always been a bargaining chip rather than an asset."
Lost in bureaucracy?
"The Scottish Government has invested £500 million into what we call the Just Transition Fund (JTF)," describes Adam. Just how politics play into fishing has been seen across various governments and different premiers. An example of the way fishing has been used as political leverage can be seen in negotiations throughout the aftermath of Brexit. "Brexit has made trading a lot more complicated. Getting goods and services here, getting people to move is actually quite tricky. This is an international business, equipment comes from all over the world, people come from all over the world, protocols from all over the world and once you wove this frictionless thread because of anything where you put friction in, its cost and complexity with, it's cost and complexity with. So, if it's a commodity business, friction trade is complicated," says de Leeuw.
As a result of the UK now being in three main negotiating forums, these were concluded last December to plan the fishing year ahead of 2024, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. These forums involved agreeing on total allowable catches for each of the stakeholders, with the UK having to now reach an agreement with not only Norway but also the European Union and further coastal states, creating multilateral negotiations. Elisabet Babic, the President of the North Sea Commission, defines her work throughout the Commission to encompass the North Sea and its regions around the north, working on topics such as marine resources. Babic says: "We have working groups focusing on transport, climate, energy and smart regions too."
"We need Scotland."
Babic echoes Scotland's integral role throughout this, defining its interaction as a form of participation post-Brexit. In February this year, Babic and some of her colleagues from the North Sea Commission visited Scotland, one of their stops was Aberdeen. As the President of an organisation that is focused on "cooperation" and "improvement", Babic wants to make sure Scottish voices do not disappear from European forums or the negotiation tables that can affect local livelihoods and development. "A large percentage of Aberdeen's workforce is energy-focused; they're all people that live and work in local communities. So, any impact in the oil and gas industry will be acutely felt in local communities," adds Harkins from the Port of Aberdeen.
s one of six geographical commissions of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions, the North Sea Commission was formed in 1989 and Scotland has been a member for a "long" time. Yet as Babic says: "They have not had so much participation lately. But we need Scotland as there is so much knowledge available here." The President continues: "We want Scotland to participate more because we want their knowledge as well as we want them to have their influence, especially since they left with Brexit." That is one of the reasons why the commission met with local Aberdeenshire councillors and industry leaders when visiting the granite city. It was also to continue building and nurturing the
commission's ties here for future opportunities. Underlining the role of Scotland within EU negotiations circulating the fishing industry, SNP MP for Aberdeen North, Stephen Flynn says: "As one of the richest fishing nations there, we would finally be able to influence policy to benefit our current and future fisheries interests." Babic also mentions the long-established and strong blue economy in Denmark and questions: "Perhaps more focus on this could be a help for Scotland too?".
Opportunities amid struggles
The Commonwealth defines the blue economy as "an emerging concept that encourages sustainable exploitation, innovation and stewardship of our ocean and its life-giving 'blue' resources." This could be by repurposing biological material for new opportunities or sustainably reinventing the practices of traditional industries. MSP Adam emphasises the need to transition industries along with the renewable sector: "We need our fishing industry, we need the renewable energy sector—that is just going to happen. It's a fact of our future. We need it for sustainable food practices, food catch and sustainable energy. If we look at it, energy and food are the two things besides shelter that humans need and so we'll have to ensure that we can get these parties working together."
It is not just those who work directly with the fishing sector, such as SFF's Alexander and Innes, who suggest that Scots should eat more of their locally landed fish. The Technical University of Denmark underlines the need to promote sustainability throughout consumption patterns. "The UK is not the greatest for eating fish and the fish we do eat, like cod and haddock, are not the same that you're trying to get people to eat," Steven Alexander says. Innes expands: "I remember being at a restaurant in Spain and there were young children sitting eating prawns, they were tacking the shells out themselves. It's just, you cannot imagine them doing that up in Scotland. One, they wouldn't know what to do with the prawns and two, they wouldn't want it because it's not yellow and out of the oven. That's because we export it all." He sums up and says: "We have to keep trying to get people to open up to different species and break out of the tradition of just going for haddock and chips."
A haul of cod. SFF
Positives and negatives
The exportation of fish and seafood remains primary for Scotland, both in food and GDP. Valued at £1.0 billion (204 thousand tonnes) in 2021, this accumulated to 60% of overall Scottish food exports. "I'm trying to get people to eat more locally landed fish. A lot of that food is exported, and we end up with a lot of damage to the export market. So that is quite detrimental to them as businesses," contemplates Adam.
By bringing up the environmental aspect of how we use our resources, Adam confronts another issue that Scotland, and the world, is facing. Underlined by the slogan 'Just Stop Oil', climate justice campaigners argue for the discontinuation of the approval of new oil and gas licenses prompting a decline aimed at untethering the climate disaster. For example, Cambo, the oil field given the go-ahead, placed throughout the North Sea, is predicted to come 'on stream' this year.
The negotiation of the "spatial squeeze" throughout the North Sea results in impacts which extend beyond the granite city, its influence bleeds into the just transition itself. For the Port of Aberdeen, alongside its counterparts in Fraserburgh and Peterhead, a thriving energy sector can be a lucrative addition for vessels that can assist in the development of, for example, wind farms. As with most things though, there are both positive and negative aspects of a swift shift towards renewable energy.
Will the transition be just?
"It is a transition, not a switch off, but that means we have to change," Professor de Leeuw says, but he also knows that: "change is hard". As the RGU Energy Institute's Director points out, changes will have to be handled. "This is something that has to happen", MSP Adam says. "We have to have a transition to renewable energy." Still, for the Northeast's fishing industry, the major changes that are being made to ensure a more sustainable energy sector are already being felt. Alexander of SFF explains: "The fishing industry is being displaced in a way." Further to that, he refers to a report published in June 2022 by SFF along with their English and Welsh equivalent NFFO. It states how the projected increases in competition for marine space over the next couple of decades will have "significant implications for fisheries". These industries walking a "tightrope of space," could lead to a variety of issues for the fishing industry, with the report listing job losses for those on vessels but also for those who support the sector on land. Yet as Innes mentions, "one of the issues is that fishermen are not always highly regarded". In the June 2022 report, SFF calls for more recognition of the importance that fishing plays in both local livelihoods as well as food production.
So, as the sun sets on Peterhead and the many other coastal towns of the Northeast of Scotland, the question of how the Northeast will redefine itself remains prominent. A balancing act between the maintenance of local heritage, sustainability and international relations. "It's for us and for the people here who actually live and work here to create. So, diversification is going to be key, but I would like it to be known as the energy transition hub certainly for the UK," adds de Leeuw.
SFF
The expansion of oil and gas projects into marine protected areas affects changing food webs as well as biodiversity within coastal communities. Throughout this, is there perhaps more worry facing the fishing industry now than ever before? A comprise of the generational ties which underlie the fishing industry in Scotland, poignant across many fishermen's family trees. Yet, as we take our steps towards the future, some questions could be posed. In a world that is fuelled by development and the prioritisation of the economy, where will the fishing industry truly rank? Still "a lifeblood" amongst its communities, the fishing industry remains undefined throughout talks of decarbonisation. As Scotland works to re-transition away from oil and gas, the "bargaining chip" represented by the fishing industry recalculates itself politically, negotiating its development within the spatial domain of the EU and the North Sea.
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