Trawlerman Tom Hay was for many years one of the voices of the Scottish fishing industry.
Mr Hay, who has died aged 85, lived most of his life in Peterhead but stayed in Whinnyfold, near Cruden Bay, in his earlier years.
He spent his whole working life fishing, with his 40ft white-fish trawler Incentive (PD349) a familiar sight off the coast.
For many years he was chairman of the Fishermen’s Association, frequently highlighting the failings of the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and campaigning for the UK’s withdrawal.
He once told MPs the CFP led to hundreds of thousands of tonnes of fish being dumped overboard because of policies implemented in the name of conservation.
That was more than a decade before the European Union introduced a ban on fish discards.
Carol Adams, formerly Carol MacDonald, who in 2002 teamed up with friends Morag Ritchie and Caroline Bruce to launch the Cod Crusaders group to protest against quota cuts, said Mr Hay had “fought with true dignity and passion” to secure the UK’s release from the CFP.
He was “a true gentleman and friend to many in the industry”, Ms Adams said.
“He played a huge part in the Cod Crusaders Campaign. He taught me about the regulations and treaties and was like an adviser to us, as well as a friend.
“He ought to get recognition for the years he spent fighting for the industry with true grit and passion.”
Industry group Fishing for Leave (FfL) said Mr Hay was one of the first people to “grasp the full magnitude” of the consequences of the CFP.
“Tom became a real stalwart of the eurosceptic movement,” an FfL spokesman said. “He was also a thoroughly decent gentleman.”
Former Tory MP Christopher Gill said: “Tom Hay was one of the most remarkable and thoroughly admirable people that it has ever been my privilege to have known.
“Our long and happy association was occasioned by coming together in pursuit of the interests of the Save Britain’s Fish campaign – me as a humble backbencher and Tom as the campaign’s fount of knowledge and wisdom.”
Mr Hay is survived by wife Wilma, 82, son Ali and daughter Frances.