A beloved British fish and chip shop staple faces potential extinction from menus across the nation without urgent government intervention on fishing industry visas, according to a Yorkshire MP.
Alison Hume, who represents Scarborough and Whitby and chairs a parliamentary group focused on coastal communities, has raised the alarm over impending visa restrictions preventing foreign workers from crewing vessels operating from Kilkeel in Northern Ireland.
The County Down port relies heavily on overseas labour, with approximately three-quarters of its fishing workforce currently holding foreign worker visas.
Ms Hume has urged ministers to act swiftly to prevent the collapse of the scampi sector.
The threat extends directly to Ms Hume’s own constituency, where Whitby Seafood, which describes itself as the world’s largest scampi factory, supplies frozen and chilled products to supermarkets and catering businesses nationwide.
Addressing the Commons, the MP warned: “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 per cent 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.”
Ms Hume acknowledged recruitment efforts targeting domestic workers are ongoing, but argued that a limited number of tailored seasonal visas could rescue the industry.
Scampi could be at risk of being lost from Britain’s plates unless the Government help, Alison Hume has warned
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This is not the first time concerns have been raised about the fishing industry’s reliance on overseas workers.
In 2023, Sir Robert Goodwill, Ms Hume’s predecessor as the local MP, issued warnings, highlighting that one business dependent on Filipino crew members risked closure due to visa alterations introduced by the Conservative government.
DUP MP Jim Shannon, who represents Strangford near Kilkeel, has also voiced concerns about the challenges confronting family-run trawler operations in the region.
Scampi fishing is largely done by overseas workers
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Mr Shannon has called for a permanent solution enabling fishing fleets based at Portavogie, Ardglass and Kilkeel to continue operating, and confirmed he has held discussions with immigration ministers.
Northern Ireland minister Matthew Patrick confirmed Secretary of State Hilary Benn had travelled to Kilkeel earlier this year to assess the situation firsthand.
Responding to the concerns raised in Parliament, Mr Patrick stated: “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.”