Born in 1946 and brought up in Cupar, Fife, I was educated at the local school - 
SNP Leader Alex Salmond MP and Banff and Buchan MSP Stewart Stevenson today (Wednesday) backed the Scottish fishing industry's call for extra funding to help meet the strict European legislation by 2007, which will require many trawlers to install new engines estimated at around £300,000 per boat.
Many people in the fishing industry are already struggling to make ends meet and cannot afford to meet the cost themselves. At present, the European Commission has not committed to provide any extra aid for Scotland's fishermen.
Mr Salmond said:
"It is high time burdens were taken off the fishing industry, not put on. This is the latest in a long line of restrictions or costs on an industry that has real potential but has been undermined by successive UK governments and by almost endless rules from Brussels.
"I fully back the fishing industry's call for additional financial support, otherwise many skippers in my constituency will face a huge cost barrier to continuing in the industry.
"For every £1 earned by the catching sector a further £2.50 is generated in upstream industries, and for each full-time job at sea there are a further two full time jobs onshore. If we don't get this right the impact will be felt in businesses across the north and north east of Scotland."
Mr Stevenson added:
"This is precisely the wrong time for a new burden to be placed on Scotland's fishing industry, just when they are beginning to recover from the previous draconian cuts imposed by the EU's Common Fisheries Policy.
"The industry has lost 1,200 fishermen from the north east of Scotland in the last couple of years.
"This is another issue where we must get support from Europe to re-engineer our fleet if these regulations go ahead."
Karen Adam is now the MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast
