UK fishermen may not win waters back after Brexit, EU memo reveals
This article suggests that there may be tears before bedtime in terms of the post Brexit future of fishing. I am increasingly convinced there is real unfulfilled potential in our fishing communities and was beginning to feel quite positive about the new freedoms Brexit would offer to them. There’s still all to play for at this stage though- watch this space….The article tells us:
The hopes of British fishermen that the UK can win its “waters back” after Brexit are expected to be dashed by the European parliament, despite the campaign promises of Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage, a leaked EU document reveals.
MEPs have drafted seven provisions to be included in Britain’s “exit agreement”, including the stipulation that there will be “no increase to the UK’s share of fishing opportunities for jointly fished stocks [maintaining the existing quota distribution in UK and EU waters]”.
The document, obtained by the Guardian, adds that in order for the UK and EU to keep to commitments on sustainable fishing – contained within the United Nations stocks agreement – “it is difficult to see any alternative to the continued application of the common fisheries policy”.
It is estimated that there only about 11,000 people directly employed in fishing in the UK, however the UK’s trawlermen were among the most vocal critics of the EU during the referendum, fuelled by frustration over controls on fishing quotas, which have been blamed on Brussels and the common fisheries policy (CFP).
While calling for control over Britain’s waters, Farage, the then Ukip leader, and the Labour MP Kate Hoey led a small flotilla of fishermen up the Thames days before the EU referendum in June, where they clashed with rival boats led by the singer and political activist Bob Geldof.
Speaking at the time, Farage said: “Today’s flotilla is not a celebration or a party but a full-throttled protest. We want our waters back.”
During the referendum campaign, Johnson, who is now the foreign secretary, described the CFP as “crazy” and claimed the EU had inflicted a “tragedy” on the industry, halving the number of people working within it.
But the leaked report from the European parliament’s committee on fisheries insists that the “granting of access to the EU domestic market to the UK” post-Brexit should be conditional on Britain continuing to respect the rights and obligations in the CFP.