Tag Archives: Barrie Deas
UK fishermen feeling ‘widespread shock and betrayal’ at Boris Johnson’s ‘broken promises’
Brexit fury has erupted after UK fishermen raged they have been left with a “widespread feeling of shock and betrayal” while claiming Boris Johnson broke “promises” made to the industry. The former Prime Minister promises the country’s fishermen they would be protected in the event of any post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union, which was signed at the end of 2020. The agreement states there would be a five-year transition period during which little would change that would see EU boats continue to gain access to UK waters until 2026. >click to read< 08:12
EU running riot in British waters as UK fishermen ‘betrayed’ over broken Brexit promises
UK fishermen have lashed out at the Government and accused it of “betrayal” over broken Brexit promises, with European vessels still allowed to run riot in British waters. Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party Government had promised fishermen they would be fully protected in the event of any trade deal with the European Union. This was signed at the eleventh hour on December 30, 2020, with fishing rights, which had been a major bone of contention in often bitter negotiations between the two sides, one of the last issues to be resolved. >click to read<
Fishing fuel prices leading to labour concerns and supply issues
Fuel prices for fishing vessels have risen beyond what was predicted as the worst-case scenario in April, leading to some vessels being tied up and crews walking away, seafood sector insiders have warned. Seafish, the industry body for seafood, said that fuel prices which it had expected to peak at the level of 90p per litre (all tax excluded) for the sector were now close to £1 on average at ports. High fish prices on the first sale market were helping some fishers to mitigate the impacts of fuel price increases, but some crews were more vulnerable than others to changes, said the public body. These concerns were echoed by the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations’ chairman, Paul Gilson, who said in a statement that “the price has, for several weeks, been hovering around the point where it becomes no longer viable to go to sea because earnings no longer cover costs of which fuel is the most significant component”. >click to read< 13:49
British Fishermen Feared Pro-Brexit Campaigners Would Betray Them—and They Did
Few communities in the United Kingdom were as supportive of Brexit as fishermen. Politicians pushing for the country to leave the European Union capitalized on the widespread perception that EU regulators favored fishermen from the continent over those from the United Kingdom when allocating fishing quotas. They promised that post-Brexit, UK fishermen would have unfettered access to domestic waters. Perhaps unsurprisingly, an estimated 92 percent of the UK fishing community intended to vote for Brexit in 2016. >click to read< 09:32
Brexit deal branded ‘sell out’ after ‘shameful’ treatment of fishermen
The Trade and Cooperation Agreement which went live at 11pm on December 31, 2020 and is widely referred to as the Brexit deal, set out plans to fulfil the promises made during the Leave campaign. An estimated 92 percent of British fishing communities voted for Brexit, likely lured by promises of “reclaiming our seas” and turning Britain into an “independent coastal state” with higher quotas for fishermen already struggling in the face of European competition. >click to read< 07:57 United Kingdom
Used. Fishermen say MPs who hyped Brexit fishing benefits have abandoned them
Conservative MPs who hyped the potential benefits of Brexit for the fishing industry have been accused of quietly abandoning any mention of the issue after promised gains failed to materialise. “Those Conservative MPs that were our most vociferous supporters were very quiet, about the implications of the TCA [trade and cooperation agreement]. That’s the world that we’re having to adjust to,” said Barrie Deas, chief executive of the NFFO in a briefing with journalists on Wednesday. “The European Research Group, for example quite often referred to fishing as a poster child [for Brexit] but I don’t think any of them came out and said this is a bad deal for fishing. Their eye was on the main prize, which of course was the trade agreement.” >click to read< 15:30
‘We’ll be shafted’: Amid EU trade talks, there’s little optimism at Brixham harbour
Even before the sun rose, the harbour-side of Brixham, which bills itself as the birthplace of the trawling industry, was bustling. Fishermen, market workers and merchants were busy with their early morning tasks, landing, preparing, and auctioning off gleaming hauls of dover sole, monkfish and scallops. But in the background, thoughts of the Brexit negotiations taking place hundreds of miles away in London and Brussels were hovering. In truth, there was precious little optimism at the harbour. The most common responses, accompanied by a variety of colourful expletives, were variations on: “We’ll be sold down the river again” or “We’ll be shafted, we always are.” >click to read< 12:43
