Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe / Bloomberg
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe / Bloomberg
Scottish fisherman Peter Bruce hoped Brexit would allow him to catch more cod, one of Britain’s favorite seafood dishes. Instead, he fears he will end up with less.
While Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed that last month’s trade deal will put the UK in control of its fishing waters by taking back 25% of the European Union’s rights in five years, many fishermen have to feel disappoint. They are angry that the stock fell well below the original requirements and may mean even smaller amounts of some significant catches.
“One of the species we are most concerned about is cod,” said Bruce, who has been fishing in the waters off North East Scotland for decades. “We hoped to get more quotas. I’m sorry to say it looks like we’ll have fewer. “
Although a small part of the economy, fishing was a major topic that ended trade talks and became symbolic after membership in Europe’s internal market accelerated its demise. The government says Britain will catch an additional 146 million pounds ($ 199 million) of fish through the deal, benefiting an industry that has been in decline since the 1970s.
The agreement will allow fleets to catch more mackerel and herring, but some anglers may be left with smaller amounts of cod and haddock – a favorite in the UK’s iconic fish and chip platter.
A fisherman works on sorting fish from the boat About Time in Chanel, UK, on January 10.
Photographer: Jason Alden / Bloomberg
Read more: A brief explanation of why fishing was so important in trade talks
The UK landed nearly 1 billion pounds of fish in 2019. Johnson originally demanded an 80% cut in EU duties in UK waters before giving up land for one agreement. Britain has some of the most fertile fishing areas in Europe, but had to share them with other countries.
The deal also means that quota swaps – where rights to species are exchanged between boats – may no longer be possible for British fleets. That means the amount of cod they can catch in the North Sea will drop to 57%, from 63.5%, the Scottish government said. Much of the mackerel and herring caught by British boats is sold to the continent.
While quota exchanges between individual countries are no longer allowed, the UK and the EU will have separate talks on the development of a new mechanism. In response to concerns about key fish stocks, the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said on its website that the deal will allow the UK to prioritize fishermen’s needs and pointed to quota transfers as part of annual negotiations.
It is still unclear what the outcome will be, and that means more uncertainty for the industry.
“They’ve given way too much away,” said Bruce, who works out of Peterhead, Britain’s largest fishing port. “It takes back control in name only.”
Jobs go down
British fishermen have fallen into decline in recent decades
Source: Marine Management Organization
The industry wanted Brexit to make up for the losses it had suffered over the past five decades after the country traded its expanses of fishing grounds for access to the common market, but it didn’t, said Jimmy Buchan, a Scottish fisherman now seafood. become. There is also disappointment that foreign boats can still catch within 12 miles of the British coasts.
“One of the nuggets we just gave away was not keeping foreign ships out of the 12 miles,” said Rob Wing, who runs the Cornish Fishmonger, a wholesaler in southwest England. “Most of our industry could have been helped so much.”
Read more: How Brexit talks finally got over suspicion, resentment and fish
Export misery
Traders are also concerned about sales to the continent, their main export market. New red tape is causing shipping delays, threatening to rot perishable goods at customs. Many carriers no longer transport mixed loads of seafood due to the complicated paperwork.
“You need a PhD in exports to fit in,” said Victoria Leigh-Pearson, sales director at salmon company John Ross Jr., who had delayed shipments to Europe for six days due to a customs delay. “This wastes food.”
Some UK ships have even resorted to landing their catch in Denmark to make the process easier, eliminating the need for UK processors to do business, said James Withers, CEO of the Scotland Food & Drink industry group. He estimates that seafood traders are currently losing £ 1 million in exports a day due to customs chaos.
Newhaven Harbor, UK, January 9.
The increased paperwork also means additional costs, potentially making UK companies less competitive, especially smaller ones, said Buchan, who is also CEO of the Scottish Seafood Association.
Read more: Scottish boats would land less fish due to Brexit delays
The deal also brings benefits, of course. It will generally land the UK fleets more, and those extra volumes should in future benefit processors – the middlemen between fishermen and retailers, Wing said. The government has pledged a £ 100 million package to help rebuild fleets, aging infrastructure and expand the processing sector’s capacity to handle the extra catch.
Many are also happy to abolish some of the restrictive regulations in the EU, such as landing all fish caught.
Lost fish
French fishermen are the biggest losers from the limited access to British waters
Source: European Commission
The key questions going forward are how quickly the industry can build new ships and upgrade ports to take advantage of the new deal, and what the future holds in 5 1/2 years.
Johnson has suggested that better terms could be sought in the annual negotiations once the phase-in period is over, although both the UK and the EU could use retaliatory measures if they disagree. Many in the industry doubt that the government will allay the concerns of the fishing industry when new negotiations begin, and instead focus on sectors with a greater economic impact.
“Despite that high political profile, we have not been able to move anything like the distance we should have traveled,” said Barrie Deas, CEO of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organizations. “There is now a lot of skepticism within the industry that 2025 or 2026 will be different.”
– With help from Siddharth Vikram Philip and Nikos Chrysoloras
(Adds Defra comment in 8th paragraph, export comment in 15th paragraph, chart of catches by country)