The Fishing Party was a political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. Largely a single-issue party, their formation was prompted by those involved in the fishing industry angry at cuts in the amount of fish they were being allowed to catch as a result of the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

 Single Fisheries Policy. The rationale behind their formation was that they were in the best position to represent the fishing industry as they were part of it themselves.

The Scottish National Party

Scottish National Party

The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....

 were fearful that this may result in the loss of vital votes for them as traditionally they have won the majority of the votes of those involved in the Scottish fishing industry. However the Fishing Party did not win any seats in the 2003 election. It got 5,566 votes (2.28%) on the regional list in North East Scotland. The best result was in the Banff & Buchan constituency, where the party polled 2,007 votes (7.7%). The party did not launch any candidates in the single-member constituencies.

The party has not been registered as a political party with the Electoral Commission

Electoral Commission (United Kingdom)

The Electoral Commission is an independent body set up by the UK Parliament. It regulates party and election finance and sets standards for well-run elections...

since 2004 and is understood to be defunct.