It is unlikely that any MP is more aware of the issues that affect Seafarers’ than Sheryll Murray having been a long time campaigner for the fishing industry and having lost her fisherman husband Neil in March. That is why Sheryll Murray, MP for South East Cornwall, was delighted to highlight the Seafarers’ Awareness Week on Thursday with a visit to the MV Lunar Bow, a large trawler usually based out Peterhead but, for a few days only, moored alongside HMS Belfast on the River Thames.
Onboard Sheryll, as a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Fisheries, was given a tour by crew members that included the bridge and its high-tech equipment, mess areas, accommodation, engine room, working deck, fish pumps, water separator and fish tanks. Following this there was a presentation on the activities of the Pelagic Fishing Fleet and the current state of its target species, mackerel and herring.
During the afternoon most of the crew and MPs that visited the boat visited the Palace of Westminster for a reception to formally recognise Seafarers’ Awareness Week. There were speeches from the Scottish Pelagic Fisherman’s Association (SPFA) and the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen, an organisation that was the sole recipient of nearly £3,000 raised at Neil Murray’s recent funeral.
Sheryll said: “I, and I am sure nearly all in the fishing community, are exceptionally grateful for the hard work that organisations such as the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen put in to ensure that those in need of welfare support within the industry are able to receive it 24 hours a day, 7days a week 365 days a year. From personal experience I can tell anybody that asks that they provide a magnificent service”.
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For further information please contact Sheryll’s office on 01579 344428.
Pictured: Sheryll Murray MP with the Chief Executive of the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen, Captain Dan Conley, OBE MBA RN