North-east fishermen have been urged to vote to leave the EU by UKIP leader Nigel Farage at the Skipper Expo in Aberdeen.

The politician argued the industry could be successful again if the country took control of its territorial waters.

Speaking at the launch of the Fishing for Leave group, Mr Farage said the fishing industry had largely been ignored by the pro-European Union camp.

He said: “To date you will notice there has been no national discussion about fishing in the referendum at all.

“The truth is our territorial waters under international law should be up to 200 miles and here we are now only catching 20% of the fish by value in British waters.

“We’re giving 80% of our fish away – we must be mad.

“Here is our chance to get it back.”

UK Rural Affairs Minister George Eustice, who joined Mr Farage at the event, said the UK did not have a seat at the table of the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission, which decides fishing opportunities.

He said: “Norway has a seat at the table, Iceland has a seat at the table, The Faroes has a seat at the table.

“Extraordinarily, the UK, the country with the greatest interest in the North Sea, is denied a seat at the table because we are a member of the EU.

“Instead, our technical experts and diplomats are reduced to whispering in the ear of an EU negotiator and hoping they don’t mess it up.”

Meanwhile, Moray MSP and former Fisheries Minister Richard Lochhead dismissed the claims.

He said: “I have heard Brexit spokespeople, including the current UK Fisheries Minister, George Eustice, claim Brexit would give Scottish ministers a greater role on issues such as fisheries.

“My difficulty with that argument is the UK Government could give Scottish ministers a greater role under the current arrangements, but it has chosen not to do so.

“Therefore, the promises about what would happen post-Brexit ring hollow for me, and they should ring hollow for all our fishing communities.”