Tag Archives: Brexit
Everything you ever needed to know about fisheries
We are currently going through the most significant legislative reform of the past 40 years; exactly how this will impact fisheries is unclear. There may be much to gain but also… so much to lose. I am too young to remember the ‘cod wars’ between Iceland and the UK fishing fleet (1958-1976), however, throughout my time studying and working in fisheries and marine conservation these times have always struck a chord. They highlight to me the difficulties around managing fisheries and the ever present struggle that seems to exist between the social, economic and environmental issues of the industry. >click to read<19:36
‘It’s not just commercial fishing’ Farage exposes the scale of Brexit ‘DEATH SENTENCE’
Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage told listeners of his LBC radio show this morning that the scale of fishing betrayal goes beyond Britain’s commercial fisheries. The Brexiteer MEP revealed that even British anglers are have been betrayed by the Brexit transition deal agreed with the EU. Mr Farage’s furious remarks came as angry fishermen across the country staged a series of protests against the deal in six different locations. More than 200 fishing boats took to UK waters this afternoon to rage against the deal that will leave the UK’s fishing industry at the mercy of the EU after March 2019. >click to read<11:03
Fishermen are staging a mass protest in Plymouth on Sunday against the Brexit transition deal
Fishermen from around Devon and Cornwall will converge on Plymouth next Sunday in a protest against the Brexit transition deal. The fishermen say they were sold out when Britain joined the EU, and they fear they will be sold out as we leave. Local organiser Shane Farrow said 68 boats were confirmed for the rally. Boats from as far away as Newlyn and Teignmouth will meet up in the Sound on Sunday at 3pm as part of a nationwide day of protest organised by the group Fishing For Leave. >click to read<13:17
British fishermen tired of taking ‘scraps’ from Brussels are counting down the days to Brexit
They still like a Canadian down in Cornwall. The fishermen here all remember flying the Maple Leaf on their boats in solidarity back in 1995, when Canada and Spain went to battle on the high seas in the Turbot War. Back then, anyone taking on European Union boats accused of overfishing, especially Spanish boats, could count on the support of not just Cornish fishermen, but of the entire British fishing fleet. Canada accused Spanish boats of overfishing turbot using outlawed nets and actually fired shots across the bow of a Spanish trawler called the Estai in international waters off the coast of Newfoundland. Mounties and Fisheries Department officers seized the boat and arrested its captain. >click to read< 14:33
UK set to back down over fishing quotas during Brexit transition
The UK government has accepted that British fishermen will not enjoy a larger share of the fish available to be caught in domestic waters during the post-Brexit transition period. Michael Gove, environment secretary, has called for an immediate renegotiation of fishing quotas and access for EU vessels in British waters from March 2019, when the UK will leave the bloc. But the British government is set to accept on Monday demands set out in the EU’s draft transition text, which includes a clause making clear that the UK share of the “total catch” will remain unchanged during the two years after the UK leaves the EU. >click to read<11:44
Brexit-supporting Fishermen Worried May Will Sell Them out After ‘30 Years of Torment that Seemed Neverending’
Fishing for Leave, the grassroots fishing industry campaign for Brexit which organised the seaborne protest which turned into the (in)famous Battle of the Thames, expressed concern after the Remain-supporting prime minister signalled fishing would form part of Britain’s “economic partnership” with the European Union. The lion’s share of Western Europe’s fish are in British territorial waters, but EU member-states are required to surrender control over their fisheries — like their trade policy — to Brussels, which has resulted in a massive reduction in “fishing effort” as British stocks have been doled out to other EU member-states. Talk of reduced “fishing effort” is a euphemism for massive job losses,,, >click to read<11:09
EU to ‘stick two fingers up’ and STEAL fish if UK takes back control of seas post-Brexit
The EU is proposing a “childish” plot to pursue “unsustainable fishing just to stick two fingers up at the UK” in response to reclaiming fishing waters after Brexit, it has been revealed. Mackerel and herring move between EU coastal areas and the North Sea during breeding and migration and European countries may intercept the fish before they reach British waters, it is claimed. Alan Hastings from the campaign group Fishing for Leave accused the EU of being “childish” and “sticking two fingers up” at the UK. >click here to read< 12:20
EU prepares Canada-style Brexit deal for UK
The EU is preparing to present Britain with a skeleton, Canada-style trade deal by the early summer if the UK is unable to clarify its demands and remains in Brexit La-La land, according to senior European officials. The fallback plan considered by Brexit negotiators underlines the concern in Brussels, Berlin and Paris over Theresa Mays approach to future relations, which they fear will be too muddled to allow for meaningful negotiations. click here to read the story 13:55
Trade: Why new lobster markets are needed to protect 450 jobs in our region after Brexit
New markets for the lucrative £35m lobster fishing industry in Holderness are to be investigated to help protect 450 jobs after Brexit. The local lobster fishery is the largest in Europe, landing more than one million lobster each year. Some 250 fishermen and 200 onshore jobs are supported by the industry, with 65 vessels operating out of Hornsea, Withernsea, Easington and Tunstall. But with more than 80 per cent of the Holderness catch exported to Europe, new markets will be needed if the UK leaves the EU without a favourable deal. click here to read the story 10:28
Minister calls for clarity on post-Brexit fishing industry ahead of crunch talks
The UK Government is being urged to “come clean” on its plans for the fishing industry after Brexit as ministers prepare for “difficult” quota talks. Holyrood Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing said all parties must work together in the run-up to crucial European fishing talks in December. He claimed uncertainty over what will happen when the UK leaves the European Union was being compounded by “confusion” from the UK Government over any transition period. The talks in Edinburgh on Friday, which also include representatives from the Welsh and Northern Irish administrations, are “an opportunity to show we are all fully focused on the needs and interests of our respective fishing industries,” he added. click here to read the story 18:32
Pro-Brexit Scots fishermen fear Westminster ‘power grab’
The pro-Brexit Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) has warned the UK Government’s legislation to leave the EU must be amended if Holyrood’s powers are to be respected. The call comes after the Scottish and Welsh devolved governments set out their proposal for 38 amendments to the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill to stop what they describe as a “power grab” by their counterparts in Westminster. Scotland’s devolved settlement was built upon the presumption that the UK would continuously be part of the EU. click here to read the story 10:45
Fishery Reform Post Brexit -New technology may allow regulation by effort rather than quotas
Among the few certainties of Brexit, one is that we will need a new, bespoke, British fisheries policy. The prime minister has confirmed that we will be leaving the Common Fisheries Policy. The fishing industry, though a small part of the economy, is highly symbolic, having been cheaply betrayed on entry into the European Union, when we donated to our EU partners the chance to fish a vast sea area. On leaving, Britain will control not only its 12-mile territorial waters, but also its 200-mile exclusive economic zone. This is a golden opportunity to learn from the management of fisheries around the world and design a system of exploiting our fish that is sustainable, conservationist and profitable. ITQ? or Days at Sea? click here to read the story 12:18
‘Betrayal’! Fishermen warned UK waters could be used as ‘bargaining chips’ in Brexit talks
The British Government have insisted that once the UK leaves the European Union, Britain will leave the Common Fisheries Policy. Speaking in the House of Commons in PMQs the Prime Minister confirmed the UK will be leaving the policy after Brexit, but did not make clear what would happen during the planned two-year implementation period. Ukip Fisheries Spokesman, Mike Hookem has criticised the Prime Minister, claiming Mrs May is using UK fishing grounds as “bargaining chips”. “The Prime Minister’s betrayal will devastate people in fishing communities up and down the country who have put their trust in her to deliver the Brexit they voted for. video, click here to read the story 11:46
Fishermen press Scotland Office minister on Brexit plans
Shetland fishermen have reiterated their desire to see the UK take control of its waters post-Brexit after meeting with Scotland Office minister Lord Duncan on Friday. Shetland Fishermen’s Association chairman Leslie Tait said he believes the Conservative politician “absolutely understands what a great opportunity Brexit presents for significant growth in Shetland’s single most important industry.” click here to read the story 11:45
UK fishermen see Brexit bonanza, but there’s a catch
Newlyn – For the fishermen of this small port on the toe of England, Britain’s vote to leave the European Union was an answer to their prayers. After 45 years chafing under what they saw as unfair quotas in one of the world’s richest fishing grounds, the UK government would finally, in the lexicon of Brexiteers, “take back control” of British waters. But what Brexit gives with one hand, it can also take away. European fishermen want Brussels to use its trump card – continued access to the essential EU market – in negotiations on how to divvy up the seas. click here to read the story 12:15
‘A complete fantasy’ Merkel blasted over Brexit negotiations promise to German fishermen
Angela Merkel was today accused of peddling a “complete fantasy” after she told German fishermen she would fight for them to retain access to British waters after Brexit. The chancellor was slammed for “making promises she has no right to make” in a crude bid to boost her re-election campaign, which has lost momentum in recent weeks. Yorkshire MEP Mike Hookem said the remarks by the German leader showed the EU planned to “fight dirty” over access to Britain’s prime fishing grounds during the Brexit negotiations. Watch video, Fisherman hits out at foreign boats using flag of convenience click here to read the story 12:13
Brexit Betrayal: EU Boats ‘Will Still be able to Catch Large Amounts of Fish in British Waters’, Says Gove
Leave campaigner and Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Michael Gove has shocked the British fishing industry by walking back a pledge to end the exploitation of Britain’s waters by EU vessels, saying they “will still be able to catch large amounts of fish” on a visit to Denmark. “Danish fishermen will still be able to catch large amounts of fish in British waters, even if the British leave the EU. Britain has no fish cutters [those employed to clean, trim and bone fish] and production facilities enough to catch all the fish in British waters,” he said. Video, click here to read the story 09:16
Brexit Hopes Fade for Some Who Want It So Badly
The faded Welsh industrial port of Milford Haven and the picturesque English harbor town of Brixham are economic worlds apart, but they’re both desperate to leave the European Union. Locals say Brexit can boost their fishing industry, hit by competition from foreign fleets and quotas on catches during 44 years of EU membership. The worry is that the country will repeat the mistakes on the way out they say were made on the way in by ceding to too many European demands. What they don’t want is to end up with access to more fish, though fewer markets. “There’s a lot of bargaining and we need to come down hard and do something about it,” said Mark Albery, 43, who catches lobster, crab and whelk in the waters off Milford Haven on Wales’s southwestern tip. A fisherman since he was a teenager, he’s not optimistic over a favorable deal. “Not with this country, no, not at all. We just do what we’re told in the end.” click here to read the story 15:32
Why Scotland’s Struggling Fishing Industry Backed Brexit, and Why Its Fishermen May Regret It
It’s 4 a.m., and the boat’s spotlights, affixed to both the wheelhouse and a spindly mast, illuminate the greasy deck. The Launch Out, a 60-foot prawn trawler based out of Pittenweem on Scotland’s east coast, mows through the waves on its way toward the fishing grounds. Inside the wheelhouse, the captain rolls matchstick-thin cigarettes and checks his course on the GPS. Below the deck, his two sons fumble with their yellow oilskins and ready their orange rubber boots. Outside, I watch as the ink-black sea slaps into the boat’s hull, rocking it like a cradle. The wooden deck creaks, the water fizzes, and the wind howls through the hood of my jacket. click here to read the story 11:54
Why Irish fishers are right to be worried about the UK taking back control of its waters
Many warning alarms have already been raised over Brexit, but Irish fishers may suffer the most substantial blow yet in the fallout from the UK leaving the EU. Earlier this year, the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation flagged that Ireland will be denied hundreds of thousands of tonnes of its annual haul post-Brexit. The group’s point was a simple one. When Britain leaves the EU, Irish fishers will be barred from entering British waters they previously enjoying lucrative rights to access. British secretary of state Michael Gove confirmed Irish fishers’ worst fears recently when he said: “We are taking back control. We can decide the terms of access.” One lawyer, Dermot Conway, who specialises in maritime regulations, was straightforward in his assessment of the situation – Irish fishers should be very worried. click here to read the story 21:17
Big Problems Ahead For Irish Fishermen
The first shots in the Brexit war are likely to affect fishing communities in Howth, Rush, Loughshinny, Skerries and Balbriggan where there are many families involved in fishing industry. It is estimated that for every crewman on board a boat, there are four people employed ashore in spin-off jobs. The County Leader spoke to prominent local fisherman, Ivan Wilde who operates out of Skerries who said, “The six to 12 mile exclusion zone won’t make that much of a difference to us, as we don’t fish there too much, but if they extend that to a 12 to 200 miles range, that would have a severe impact on local fishermen. We get approximately 60 per cent of our catch within that area.” We also contacted Clogherhead based fisherman, Barry Faulkner, who has three boats at sea and he fears that the Irish Sea will be split down the middle. click here to read the story 22:46
Will Britain’s fishermen be better off after Brexit?
Britain’s fishing industry accounts for only a tiny part of the UK economy, contributing less than half a per cent to annual GDP. But it is hard to think of many sectors that will be more heavily affected by Brexit. For nearly 50 years, the Common Fisheries Policy has dictated where UK fishing boats can operate and how much they can catch. It has also given EU nations access to British territorial waters. Leaving the CFP will have a dramatic impact on coastal communities across the country. click here to read the story 12:17
Fishermen Suspect Tory Brexit Pledge Masks Betrayal on £6.3bn Fishing Zone
The Government has committed to scrapping the Fisheries Convention of 1964, allowing Britain to take back control of its territorial waters from the EU out to twelve miles. But a Fishing for Leave spokesman told Breitbart London fishermen are concerned that failure to commit to reclaiming the country’s full, 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) signals an impending betrayal. Designed to pave the way for Britain’s absorption into the European Economic Community, as the European Union was then known, the London Convention gave foreign fishing boats the right to take fish from Britain’s territorial waters between six and 12 miles from the coastline. video, click here to read the story 16:19
U.K. to End Half Century of Fishing Rights in Brexit Slap to EU
Prime Minister Theresa May will pull Britain out of the 1964 London convention that allows European fishing vessels to access waters as close as six to twelve nautical miles from the U.K. coastline. Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union was already going to stop fishing by European boats within 12 to 200 nautical miles (22 to 370 kilometers) of British shores, but this move goes even further in terminating historic rights enjoyed by France, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands that predate the U.K.’s own entry into the EU. “For the first time in more than fifty years we will be able to decide who can access our waters,”,,, click here to read the story 19:34
‘We voted to leave..now we want our fishing grounds!’ British MEP blasts Eurocrats in rant
David Coburn, a Scottish MEP raged at Spanish fishermen for using UK waters to fish, demanding the grounds are returned to the. Speaking at the Committee on Fisheries, Mr Corbun targeted Spanish fishermen for wanting to use UK waters, before he took a swipe at the nation over Gibraltar. He said: “You say that Spanish fishermen may have acquired over periods of time, fishing rights in UK waters. “That’s very funny and dare I say very Spanish. “The fish are not going to go away. All that Scotland and Great Britain as a whole want, are the rights to fish our own fish, and sell them to you and why not? video, read the story here 13:22
Theresa May warned over handing UK fishing waters to Brussels
Despite failing to capture a Commons majority, the Prime Minister has insisted she will stick to the schedule and get the Brexit talks underway despite pressure from inside her own party to resign.
Ukip MEP Bill Etheridge forewarned Mrs May about using Britain’s fishing waters as a bargaining chip, with the possibility of them being handed back to Brussels in exchange for other concessions. The Brexiteer described the potential move as the “ultimate betrayal” by Mrs May and her Conservative minority government. He said: “It would be a huge betrayal and quite frankly the second time the Conservatives have betrayed our fishing fleets. Video, click here to read the story 11:23
Brexit vanguard abandoned by Theresa May: UK fishermen cut adrift by political elite
During the 2016 EU referendum, fishing quotas briefly became a major talking point in UK politics. Prominent Leave campaigners used the restrictive quotas to demonstrate the affect the EU had on British business, with then Ukip leader Nigel Farage even joining a flotilla of fishermen in a protest on the Thames. Fishermen across the country became a politically mobilised group during the referendum campaign, with groups like Fishing for Leave gaining significant coverage. However, one year on from the vote, interest in the issue seems to have cooled. “I do wonder whether anything will actually change, I really do” said Hastings fishermen Mark Woodley. “And a lot of the other fisherman are the same. We was hoping for great things, but she hasn’t actually mentioned anything about fishing, Theresa May, has she?” click here to read the story 11:18
Fishermen want the hardest Brexit deal they can get
Graham Doswell is in optimistic form as he unloads netfulls of lobster, crab, sprat, white bait and a solitary plaice after a hard days fishing off the coast of Eastbourne. Like the vast majority of fishermen, he voted for Brexit and believes his industry will be much better off outside the EU. “Brexit is a breath of fresh air. A lot of fishermen are hanging on by the skin of their teeth or have given up altogether because the EU has made it so they can’t make ends meet,” Doswell told i, standing by his boat, the Halcyon, in Fishermen’s Quay two miles north of the Eastbourne Pier. “The EU has knocked the stuffing out of the fishing industry by giving us only a tiny bit of the fish in our waters but it now has a fantastic opportunity to pull itself back from the brink. If we make a good job of it now, there is so much hope,” said Doswell, a third-generation fisherman. click here to read the story 10:30
Medieval Histories – Medieval Cod Wars 1415 – 2017
In the 15th-century long-distance fishing appeared as one of the first global industries. Then – as now – huge political and economic interests were at stake; often leading to war. Medieval fishing in the North Sea has for a long time been an important topic for a group of historians, archaeologists and scientists led by J. H. Barrett, Reader in Medieval Archaeology at the University of Cambridge. Being an archaeologist, this has resulted in significant accumulation of valuable knowledge as to how and when the fishing trade in Northern Europe exploded; and how it successively played out. (this is an interesting read, Fast forward) And so it went for centuries with more than ten officially registered “cod wars”. According to the received history, the last two of these began immediately after WW2, when Iceland gained its independence from Denmark.,, Cod Wars Post Brexit,,, click here to read the story 19:19
Brexit ‘provides golden opportunity to regain control of fisheries policy’
Brexit provides a “golden opportunity” to revitalise the UK’s fisheries industry, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) has said. The free market think tank claimed the sector has been in decline for decades, due in part to the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy. An IEA study urges the Government to remove indirect subsidies, such as grants for harbour improvements and transport links, because it says infrastructure is better operated on a commercial basis. The report calls for subsidies for the industry to be phased out and replaced with market mechanisms to protect fisheries. click here to continue reading the story 15:35
