Disappearing act
A statistical glitch meant figures for Scottish salmon exported to the EU in January were wildly wrong, but it took a while for HMRC to realise there was a problem. […] Continue Reading
Opinion
Chicken feed
Maybe it’s time to revisit a bright idea from the 1990s? Industry critics regularly refer to comments, made by the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Economy and Connectivity (REC) Committee in 2018, […] Continue Reading
The Changing of the Guard
So here it is, my dear old Mum is nearing the end and it is a sad, sad process to have to stand by and watch. Many of you will […] Continue Reading
Party pledges
Back in the early days of the Scottish Parliament, manifesto launches were a big deal. They signalled the kick-off of the campaign. They set the tone and they were important; […] Continue Reading
The art of story telling
Writing last month’s piece about the last 50 years reminded me how much the industry has changed in other ways. When I first started to understand how we were seen […] Continue Reading
Unfair game
Earlier this month, I came across a headline in the Mail on Sunday that declared: “Listen to country folk – we know our land best”. This was a piece written […] Continue Reading
Holyrood in the balance
John Finnie is one of many MSPs who are standing down at next month’s Holyrood election and I will be sorry to see him go. That is because he has […] Continue Reading
Evolution of an industry
Given the importance of salmon farming to Scotland, it is hard to believe that just 50 years have passed since the first harvest of farmed salmon. It wasn’t until 1979, […] Continue Reading
Time for a lighter touch
Right in the middle of February, six weeks after the new Brexit rules came into effect, a lorry full of Scottish salmon was stopped at the border control post in […] Continue Reading
The Old Man and the Sea
Such is the title of a magnificent book by Ernest Hemingway. For those who haven’t read it, it details the story of an old man who catches a huge tuna, […] Continue Reading
Why I am still an unrepentant Leaver
OK, as a Brexiteer I accept this is all my fault. I mean, the chaos for exporters and difficulty getting into Europe. But seriously, was no one expecting this? Hands […] Continue Reading
Mussels and Brussels
I generally class myself as an optimist, but Brexit has rather soured my thinking, and on this subject at least, I have become a fully paid-up member of the pessimistic […] Continue Reading