Tag Archives: Brexit
Death by a Thousand Cuts – ‘We Have Fish, That’s Our Currency’
Just before midnight, David O’Neill navigated his trawler into the harbor in Union Hall, a small port in southwestern Ireland, the wake from the vessel sending tiny waves slapping against the pier. The crew swiftly unloaded their catch, using a crane to lift ice-packed crates of haddock and hake from the hold of the Aquila under bright spotlights. Less than an hour later, the Aquila would depart for its final trip. Two days later, the crew stripped the vessel’s contents — chains, buoys, ropes, steel cables, and hooks — and ejected them onto the pier, on their way to a shipyard to be scrapped. “This is coming with me,” Mr. O’Neill said as he unscrewed the Aquila’s wooden steering wheel. “It reminds you of all you’ve been through on this boat.” Photos, >click to read< 10:20
UK fishing industry gets green light to hire more overseas workers
Ministers have quietly agreed to allow more overseas workers to join the UK fishing industry, as the sector struggles with labour shortages and post-Brexit export regulations. Share fishermen, trawler skippers and deckhands on large fishing vessels are to be added to the government’s shortage occupation list, a scheme which allows UK employers to pay overseas workers about 80 per cent of the usual wage in certain industries. The opening of the UK’s doors to more overseas fishermen is a tacit recognition that Brexit has not generated the boom in the sector that had been promised by Boris Johnson and other Leave campaigners at the time of the 2016 referendum. >click to read < 07:52
A Crab’s Eye View of Brexit
Of all the vexing regulations that Brexit has thrust upon Paul Knight’s shellfish exporting business, the one he finds most absurd is this: Before he can deliver his crabs and lobsters to France and Spain, they must be certified by a veterinarian. Before Brexit that was relatively simple. But now, because of all the extra paperwork required, Alastair Mackie, the Dignity Jay’s skipper, must deliver his shellfish earlier. So he will finish fishing by 11.30 a.m., rather than 5 p.m., to get his catch on a ferry from the Isle of Mull to Oban on the Scottish mainland. Each week, the early finish cuts one day’s catch in half. When it took full effect, in January 2021, Brexit ended an era of easy trade with his markets in continental Europe. >click to read< 12:34
French fishermen begin two-day strike to highlight ‘plague of crises’
Many French fishermen have begun a two-day strike to highlight a “plague of crises” hitting their sector, including EU regulation and post-Brexit turmoil. They are being called to walk out on Thursday (March 30) and Friday (March 31) to call for more government support. Industry group le Comité national des pêches (CNP) says the journées mortes (dead days) in French ports would mean no fishing boats going out, no fish sales, and no processing of fish food items. >click to read< 08:00
Norway ‘secure more out of fishing deal than Ireland’
Under the deal, Norwegian fishers can catch 224,000 metric tonnes of blue whiting in Irish waters this year, an increase of 110,000 metric tonnes on how much they were allowed to catch last year. In contrast, Irish fishermen and women are only allowed to catch 52,000 metric tonnes of blue whiting, up from the 28,000 tonnes they could catch last year. While unhappy with the lack of quota parity between the two countries, fishing representatives here say the deal has an upside to it. >click to read< 11:50
Furious fishermen block France’s largest port in row over EU rules to eliminate trawling
French fishermen protesting against a European Union project to restrict bottom fishing symbolically blocked the main French fishing port, Boulogne-sur-Mer, on Sunday evening, the prefecture and the regional fisheries committee said. Seven fishing boats enacted a blockade at the entrance to the port, the prefecture said. Olivier Leprêtre, president of the Hauts-de-France regional fisheries committee told AFP the EU Commission’s plan “would be the death of the port of Boulogne”. He pointed out that with such a measure only 20 percent of the waters of the Pas-de-Calais Strait would remain accessible to fishing. >click to read< 09:01
‘A bloody lie!’ Boris torn apart over ‘take back control’ promise as UK fishermen rage
Boris Johnson has been branded a liar over his Brexit promise that the UK would “take back control” of its waters, with warnings the UK fishing industry is now “on its last legs”. The former Prime Minister, who pledged to “Get Brexit Done”, had promised to protect the industry before signing a trade deal with the European Union. The fishing agreement states there would be a five-year transition period that would see EU boats continue to gain access to UK waters until 2026. But June Mummery, the former MEP for East of England and founder of Renaissance of the East Anglian Fisheries, has launched a furious attack against Mr Johnson, claiming UK fishermen have been “stabbed in the back”. >click to read< 08:16
Boris accused of ‘throwing the fishing industry under a trawler’ as huge Brexit row erupts
Former Prime Minister Mr Johnson had previously insisted “taking back control” of fishing was one of the prizes of ending Britain’s 47-year membership to the EU. But more than three years on from that agreement being signed, furious UK fisherman feel “betrayed” by the Government over the post-Brexit deal they have been dealt – with many struggling to even fish in their own coastal waters. “The UK Government has absolutely thrown the fishing industry under a trawler.” Those in fishing ports, in the South West of England, Cornwall, Devon, around the Scottish coasts and islands – they can see it for themselves. There is a widespread feeling of everything from disappointment to betrayal. >click to read< 09:33
Trawler decommissioning scheme ‘needs to be better funded’
Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue needs to put additional funding into the State’s decommissioning scheme for fishing trawlers to make it viable, industry representatives have said. His comments follow the news that the owners of just 20 fishing boats had so far accepted State offers to decommission. The scheme was originally capped at €60m, before Mr McConalogue later increased that to €75m. However, Mr Murphy said the funding is inadequate. “Europe was originally told the scheme could cost €96m but he went for a smaller amount. The decommissioning scheme has proved unpopular as boat owners accepted for decommissioning will only get a proportion of the total value of their boats back. >click to read< 09: 47
Ireland: Only 20 fishing boat owners accept State’s decommissioning offer
Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM) has admitted the low uptake in a statement issued to mark the opening of today’s Skipper’s Expo trade show, which it sponsors. Although the statement centred around the publication of its two-year study on the fishing industry’s carbon footprint, it mentioned the controversial decommissioning scheme in passing. Of the take-up and the fact that less than half have gone for it, BIM simply said: “Some 57 letters of offer have been issued with total funding of €75m. To date 20 owners have accepted.” The current scheme and a number of tie-up schemes over the past two years were designed to help mitigate against the quota and financial losses Irish fishers sustained because of Brexit. >click to read< 10:16
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<
‘Our fish first!’ Post-Brexit fisheries deal signed by Macron sparks furious Frexit calls
Calls for France to leave the EU have reignited as Emmanuel Macron’s government fails to safeguard the interest of French fishermen after Brexit. Brussels has been accused of “organising the disappearance of the small-scale fishing industry” in France as a post-Brexit deal signed by Emmanuel Macron will force French fishermen’s catches out of their own markets to the advantage of British ones. Emmanuel Macron’s government has agreed to open up the Breton fish markets to fish caught by British vessels, something that infuriated French right-wing politicians. >click to read< 15:47
Fears Brexit will cause 1,200 job losses in Irish mackerel sector
Ireland’s mackerel sector will lose more than 1,200 jobs by 2030 because of Brexit, according to fishing industry representatives. The economic cost to the industry in lost revenue and impact on the local economy is also estimated to be more than €800m. This is according to an analysis of the impact of Brexit on the sector which predominantly centres around mackerel, blue whiting, and herring catches. In three years, from 2021 to the end of 2023, pelagic fishers will, for example, have lost a total of 37,508 tonnes of their mackerel quota, the amount the EU says they can catch. >click to read< 20:20
Brexit three years on: The fishing industry says ‘It’s killing us’
Of all the many Brexit battlegrounds, fishing was one of the hardest-fought. It moved beyond political promises and threats into legal action, angry blockades and trawlers being seized. Having spent almost 50 years as a fisherman, Ian Perkes was at the heart of the matter. Fishing out of Brixham, south-west England, Perkes voted ‘Leave’ in order to rid himself of EU competition and quotas. When CGTN Europe spoke to him in 2021, it was already proving difficult, with extra paperwork and costs eliminating profits. Two years on, has the situation improved? It’s a far cry from the post-Brexit dream that Perkes was sold by former UK prime minister Boris Johnson and other members of the ‘Leave’ campaign. >click to read< 21:00
‘I was lied to by Boris Johnson’: Why much of UK fishing is still waiting for a Brexit boost
Almost four years after Johnson promised the fishing merchant the French would be desperate to buy his fish, the business has seen sales plummet 30% and export costs rise by as much as £3,000 a week. Fish merchant Ian Perkes won’t forget the day he met Boris Johnson. It was 23 August 2019, and the MP, less than a month into his spell as prime minister, was on an unannounced visit to the south Devon fishing town of Brixham. It was a typically rumbunctious performance from Johnson, extolling the virtues of Brexit and the “huge benefits” it was going to bring to the UK, not least the folk of this small but important UK fishing town. >click to read< 08:08
Brixham fish fleet smashes records with amazing £60.8m bonanza
The best ever year of trading in Brixham’s long history of fishing also means a windfall of around £1.5m to Torbay Council. Industry leaders are celebrating their success today, but also warning that the port must expand if that success is going to continue. And the new record comes as a “silver lining” after the UK fishing industry struggled to find ways to cope with the effects of a disappointing Brexit. Brixham Trawler Agents managing director Barry Young said there had been no doubt that Covid, Brexit, record fuel prices and the cost of living crisis meant 2022 would be tough to predict. But, he said, it soon became clear that the value of fish sold on Brixham Fish Market would break existing records. >click to read< 07:59
Brexit, offshore wind farms and high fuel costs scupper Dutch fishing industry
The end of the Dutch trawler fishing industry is in sight now a large part of the Dutch fleet has signed up for the government’s buy-out ruling, according to NOS. In total, about 40 of the 120 trawlers which fish for plaice and sole in the North Sea will be left and that will have a knock-on impact on the rest of the industry, the broadcaster said. For example, the fish auction in Den Helder is now closing its doors and trawlers will now have to head for Den Oever and IJmuiden to unload their catches, NOS said. >click to read< 13:37
Is the UK really allowed to catch more fish because of Brexit?
British politicians earlier this week praised the results of the EU-UK 2023 Brexit fishing quota negotiations, saying the UK will be able to catch 30,000 more tonnes of fish than if the island nation had remained within the European bloc. The UK fishing industry will be allowed to catch 140,000 tonnes of fish in 2023, instead of 110,000 tonnes if Brexit had not happened, Fisheries minister Mark Spencer said on Tuesday. The amount of fish that the UK can catch in 2023 has actually remained the same or similar to previous years. So why are politicians latching on to it now? >click to read< 08:09
Shetland suffers dip in fish landings but expectations high for next year
The last fish market of the year was earlier today. Shetland Seafood Auctions confirmed a total of 338,627 boxes had gone through the fish markets in Scalloway and Lerwick during 2022. Auction manager Martin Leyland said the amount of white fish landed over the course of the year was slightly below expectations. He cited the energy crisis, which forced many boats to tie up for a spell earlier this year, as well as poor cod quota as the main reasons behind the lower-than-expected figures. >click to read the rest< 13:53
Hull’s once mighty deep-sea fleet down to one, as MP says Tories have ‘betrayed’ fishing industry
One of the two remaining Hull-based deep-sea trawlers will retire before the end of the year, as a city MP said the Government had “betrayed” the fishing industry over distant-water quotas in the wake of Brexit. The Farnella is owned by UK Fisheries, which also operates the supertrawler Kirkella. The company said a dozen “skilled and loyal” crew members were set to lose their jobs and it was working to find them other roles in the industry. “This is a sad day for us,” said Jane Sandell, the company’s chief executive. “The UK’s failure to negotiate adequate quotas for us in our traditional grounds in the northern external waters has led to this difficult decision.” Video, >click to read< 06:46
‘This is the death rattle for Irish fishing’: dozens of trawlers to be decommissioned in State scheme
Up to 80 trawlers from the country’s 180-strong offshore fishing fleet could be destroyed if all their owners are accepted onto the Brexit Voluntary Decommissioning Scheme. “People don’t seem to realise what is happening here. “This is the death rattle of the Irish fishing industry. “If all those 82 ships are taken out of the fleet, that will leave just 78. Alan Carleton, who has applied to decommission his family’s trawler Syracuse, said he could no longer afford to be a fisherman.“Two years ago, I would spend around €2,360 for fuel for an eight-day fishing trip. “That cost is now €13,200 for the same trip.” >click to read< 17:54
Fishing No Longer a Viable Career for Aran Islanders
Several leading Aran Island fishers have spoken of how impossible it is for family businesses to continue fishing due to Brexit-related quota losses and escalating fuel costs. Interviewed on RTÉ Radio 1 Countrywide, John and Mary Conneely outlined the struggle involved, and said they would be considering applying for the Government’s decommissioning scheme. A 60 million euro scrappage scheme, where vessel owners who agree to surrender their licenses and have their vessels broken up, is being rolled out by the Government with EU backing. Stevie Joyce, also an Aran islander, said he hopes to remain in the industry. Joyce, who fishes the 27-metre Oileáin an Óir,,, >click to read< 10:39
Fishermen’s deal with Swedish firm clears way for huge offshore wind farm
Fishermen have traditionally opposed offshore wind farms because of the impact on their access to their fishing grounds, but a new partnership in Donegal wants to turn that relationship on its head, potentially generating massive amounts of energy. with being. Over the next 18 months, the Kilibegs Fishermen Organisation, along with Hexicon, a Swedish firm that specializes in floating offshore wind farm technology, and Sinbad Marine Services, a company in Kilibegs that provides services to fishermen, submitted a planning application for the new marine. ready to do. regulator, for a €3 billion investment in an offshore floating wind farm off the south coast of Mara, Donegal. >click to read< 11:49
Fishing Fleet Brexit Voluntary Permanent Cessation Scheme Open for Applications
The purpose of the scheme is to restore balance between the fishing fleet capacity and available quotas following quota reductions arising from the Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) between the EU and the UK. The scheme follows from a recommendation of the Seafood Task Force, established by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Charlie McConalogue TD, in 2021. The scheme will support vessels in the polyvalent and beam trawl segments to permanently cease all fishing activity, increasing the quota available for remaining vessels, and thereby ensuring the sustainable profitability of the Irish fishing fleet. >click to read< 08:34
Call for Commission of Inquiry into How Irish Governments Managed Fishery Resource
Marine expert Dr Kevin Flannery has called for a commission of inquiry into how successive governments have managed Ireland’s fishing resource. In an Irish Independent feature on the impact of the 60 million euro whitefish fleet decommissioning scheme totalling 80 million euro including tax credits. Flannery also says people will drive around the west coast in a few years and wonder where all the Irish boats have gone. The decommissioning scheme aims to scrap 60 vessels, a third of the active whitefish fleet, at a time of growing concern over food security. It will be funded from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve to compensate for quota losses due to Brexit. >click to read< 08:12
Jimmy Buchan: energy costs will drive fish processors out of business
Mr Buchan has sent a letter to the two candidates vying to become Prime Minister, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, ahead of their campaigning visits to Scotland tomorrow. In the letter Mr Buchan, the chief executive of the Scottish Seafood Association, warned that on top of Brexit and Covid, escalating fuel costs were having a “devastating impact on our ability to remain viable”. Meanwhile, the body representing the fishing industry has also issued an open letter to the prospective PMs. Elspeth Macdonald, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, highlighted the need for “fairer decision making” over use of the seas in order to prevent fishing becoming “collateral damage” ahead of the spansion of wind farms. >click to read< 15:21
Brussels approves plan to fund scrappage of trawlers
The European Commission’s plan to encourage some Irish trawler owners to scrap their fishing vessels has been described as “a necessary evil” by Irish fishing organisations. The commission has approved a €80 million Irish scheme that would help owners badly affected by the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union to quit the industry. In order to qualify for the grant, which will be calculated on the gross tonnage of the fishing vessel, owners will not only have to stop fishing, but also to surrender their licence and scrap their boats. Some of the grants will have to shared with trawler crews, and crews will also be able to claim some tax reliefs. >click to read< 07:29
French and Jersey fishermen meet for first time since Harbour blockade
The meeting this month was the first since Norman and Breton fishing vessels blockaded the Harbour in May last year in a protest over post-Brexit fishing rights. Relations deteriorated to such an extent last summer that the UK sent two naval vessels to Jersey in response to the blockade and some French politicians threatened to cut off the Island’s electricity supply. The president of the Jersey Fishermen’s Association, Don Thompson, said the meetings were an important first step in improving relations with their French counterparts. ‘We invited the French fishermen and representatives to Jersey for this first meeting,’ Mr Thompson said. ‘We are working for solutions. Typical of fishermen, the meeting was very forthright. We got right to the point and did not hold back.’ >click to read< 10:20
Rising cost of fuel adds to pressure on fishing industry
The fishing industry is facing a perfect storm of circumstances that must be addressed urgently by the Government to avoid permanent damage to the sector, according to representative groups. The rising cost of fuel is compounding the already significant strain on the industry caused by Brexit and the pandemic, fishers say. According to Aodh O’Donnell, chief executive of the Irish Fish Producers Organisation, said many boats can’t run profitably in the current circumstances. “We are looking at fuel costing €1.30 per litre or more, it has effectively doubled in cost in less than a year.” Mr O’Donnell said French and Spanish fishermen were being supported by their governments and this was leaving Irish boats at a disadvantage. >click to read< 08:54
Troubled Waters – British Fishermen and Brexit
More than two years after Brexit, British fishermen are angry. They were promised more control over fishing rights in British waters, but what they’ve gotten is reduced income. Many of them voted Leave, but now they feel they’ve been let down. The fishing industry overwhelmingly supported Brexit. Darren Kenyon is a fisherman from Grimsby in North East England. He believed in the government’s Brexit promises – including more control over fishing rights in British waters — and voted Leave. But two and a half years after Brexit, he feels betrayed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Kenyon’s income is lower than it used to be and there’s more red tape than ever. >click to read< 12:10
