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The referendum on Scottish independence will come. I believe that Shetland must start thinking of its constitutional position now. Does Shetland want to be part of an independent Scotland? If Scotland says yes, but Shetland says no, Shetland could remain part of the United Kingdom if that's what Shetland demands. It would provide a fascinating oportunity for Shetland to redraw its own relationship with the UK. If it remained part of the UK it could push for more autonomy along the same terms as Isle of Mann. However, if Shetland is to have an 'opt out' clause, the Council, our MSP and MP must act now. An opt out is not something SNP will give in to easily (loss of oil revenue). Negotiations would be long and hard. The outcome of negotiations with SNP may be that Shetland could become an autonomous region within Scotland if it agreed to independence. The fact is that Shetland is in a great position when it comes to negotiations on its constitutional status thanks to its oil reserves. Both the Scottish Government and the UK Government would be willing to let Shetland have more control over its own affairs in return for securing the oil revenue. It's up to the Shetland public, SIC, Tavish Scott MSP and Alistair Carmichael MP to take this opportunity of a life time head on.

After seeing Hughs fish fight on the television you realised how fragile our sea is and as islanders i would hope most people on here would think the same,Cod is under real threat and with mackrel stocks at the brink of collapse i urge people to add there support for Hughs fish fight, What do the people on here think?

I am at uni in Edinburgh and there has been alot of argument in the newpapers about the potential benifits and disadvantages of Scottish independence but what would Shetland do? could we not use the same arguments the SNP have been using to make Shetland (and Orkney?) independant and take all the North Sea oil with us? or even stay in the UK? the SNP dont get loads of votes back home so doesnt that mean we like all like being part of Britain?. The SNP say Scotland should be in control of its own affairs, we are culturally different and "Scotland's oil" is going to the treasury in London and not Edinburgh, but surely that can also apply to us and Scotland. Could this not have the potential to make us all very rich!!!!!!! surely if corperation tax was lowered enough the oil companies would more their offices here and bring loads of jobs. Personally i dont want Scotland to leave the UK, and i think we are better off in in the UK. Just wonderin what folk think?

Judging by the reports in todays Scottish press, a large number of voters have trouble identifying the political party leaders, including Tavish Scott, who has been mistken for both Steve Davis of snooker fame and Fred Goodwin of RBS infamy! Now i reckon that is a helluva lot of tasty UHA squad material for next year already. On a serious note, is this not confirmation of the dire state of Scottish politics, when there really are no heavy weight players any more and most people have no idea who is who? Looks like Salmond will have no difficulty in coming back with a better majority this time.

I was shocked to see what a Shetland boat was up to on the news here in Norway. It had been fishing cod in the Norwegian sector and then proceeded to the British sector where it dumped 80% of its catch. Aparantly the fish were under 80cm so they wouldn't get a premium price. It is well known that cod is in a voulnerable state right now, but in any case this is just wrong. It is morally wrong and its just pissing in your own bed. This has been illegal in Norway since the eighties and the boat would have been arrested had it done it in the Norwegian sector. It is just calculated environmental criminality. The whole thing is very provocative, dissapointing and shocking. http://www1.nrk.no/nett-tv/nyheter/spill/verdi/66582 http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/distrikt/hordaland/1.6157006