Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to help support skilled fishermen in Northern Ireland through the visa system.

We are aware of concerns around labour shortages in the fishing industry and seafood processing sectors. The generally more remote location of the jobs, as well as pay and the challenging working conditions, all present challenges for UK and devolved governments, and the industry, to address. It is important that the industry looks to the domestic workforce to fill vacancies.

Following publication of our Immigration White Paper, the threshold for Skilled Worker visas was raised to graduate professions, but fishing occupations remain on the Immigration Salary List, as a transitional measure until the end of 2026. The industry will need to adapt away from relying on the visa system in that time.