Tag Archives: EU
Angry and frustrated
‘What was delivered in terms of additional fishing opportunities and control over access was very far from what any self-respecting coastal state might expect,’ an NFFO representative commented. All the same, the NFFO remains certain that ‘escaping the dead clutches of the overcentralised and cumbersome Common Fisheries Policy’ is regarded by many as a major positive – ‘although a huge amount of work remains to be done to realise the benefit of this new framework, especially through the development and implementation of fisheries management plans, it is a huge opportunity.’ The NFFO states that against this background, it is disappointing that the promised agility of the new framework to deliver effective and timely outcomes has been thwarted by the UK’s own legislative systems. >click to read< 10:14
UK reaches agreement on key fish stocks for 2023
The UK has reached agreements with the EU and Norway, and wider coastal states, to secure valuable fishing opportunities for the UK fishing industry. Negotiating as an independent coastal State, the UK agreed catch levels for 2023 for six important fish stocks in the North Sea including North Sea cod, haddock and herring. This comes as the UK also concluded negotiations on catch limits with coastal States in the North East Atlantic on three more key stocks to the UK fishing fleet – blue whiting, mackerel and atlanto-Scandian herring. In total, UK quota in these stocks will be worth around £256m to the UK fishing industry next year. >click to read< 11:15
One-third of Ireland’s offshore fishing fleet apply for decommissioning scheme
Just over 60 trawlers from the country’s 180-strong offshore fishing fleet have all applied to the Government’s decommissioning scheme. Some 19 of the 64 applicants are from Castletownbere,,, If all of those who apply for decommissioning accept it, it will be a blow for Castletownbere, not just for the fishing industry, but also for local businesses that rely on boats for a sizeable income. Alan Carleton, who applied to decommission his family’s trawler Syracuse, says he can no longer afford to be a fisherman. “My income has gone down over the past few years, but my costs have shot up,” he said. >click to read< 12:53
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
UK fishing minister in Shetland aims for post-Brexit opportunities in 2026
UK fishing minister Victoria Prentis said she has listened carefully to what fishermen and industry leaders have told her about one of the islands’ key industries. Following a two day visit to Shetland during which she was lobbied by salmon farmers and fishermen, Prentis and her team were left in no doubt of the significance the seafood industries play in the wellbeing of the isles. She acknowledged that the outcome of the Brexit negotiations wasn’t what fishermen had been promised and said that preparatory work for follow-up negotiations with the EU for the period beyond 2026 were already under way. “We have already started the long and detailed work starting to talk to the industry to make sure that when we arrive at the negotiations, we know exactly what we want and what we are asking for, and this visit is very much part of that preparatory work,” she said. >click to read< 17:54
Ex-Hull fishermen tell Nigel Farage UK has ‘never won an argument over fishing’
Former Hull fishermen have revealed their frustration to Nigel Farage following Brexit. Under a post-Brexit trade deal, UK boats need licenses to fish in waters of EU member states, while EU countries also need similar licenses to fish in UK waters. Prime Minister Boris Johnson previously vowed to “do whatever is necessary” to protect UK fisheries when negotiating, but has since received backlash from the industry who feel let down by the deal. Ron Wilkinson, chairman of fishing charity Stand-Hull Heritage, sat alongside vice chairman Vic Wheeldon, and claimed that the UK “has never won an argument over fishing” as the pair’s anger over the Brexit deal was clear to see. >click to read< 10:50
A year since Brexit, fishermen in Cornwall say they were ‘sold a dream’
Skipper James “Chunky” Chown makes the tricky task of boarding his trawler, the Ajax, at Newlyn Harbour in Cornwall, look easy. The fisherman moves from the quay, descends 10 metres down an iron ladder over a widening gap of turquoise sea, and onto the boat in a single fluid motion. When it comes to fishing, everything is difficult now, due to the new post-Brexit rules,,, It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Polls suggested that 92 per cent of the UK fishing industry voted to leave the EU, amid promises that they would benefit from “taking back control” of British waters. >click to read< 12:55
Fishermen call for ‘shake-up’ of quota setting system
In response to the deal, which was finalised on Friday, Shetland Fishermen’s Associations have again called for the creation of an independent panel of experts to examine and evaluate stock assessments made by scientists from the International Council of for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The SFA’s executive officer Simon Collins said the agreed quotas bear “little of no resemblance of the abundance of fish observed on the grounds.” “We’re sick and tired of going through the same process every year. Wildly erratic stock assessments, often both ways, are held up as sacred truths,,, >click to read< 21:20
Ireland’s fishermen and farmers fight the Brexit fallout
Ireland’s fishermen and farmers took to Dublin to protest what they feel are unfair regulations. They are not happy with the Irish government either, which they say is failing to stand up for them. The issues involved for our fishermen and farmers are different, of course, but they go back to the same roots, as we will explain in a moment. First the fishermen. In the middle of last week, a huge flotilla of fishing boats sailed up the Liffey,,, It was the most picturesque protest we have seen here in a long time. >click to read< 18:12
EU ‘fly-shooting’ fishing boats in Channel spark concerns
The UK has been accused of allowing a fleet of mainly EU “fly-shooting” fishing boats “unfettered access” to the Channel, without a proper assessment of the impact on fish populations, the seabed or the livelihoods of small-scale fishers. Organisations representing small-scale fishers on both sides of the Channel have warned that the fleet is having a “devastating” effect on their catches. They are calling for a review of the vessels’ UK licences until an impact assessment has been carried out. Fly-shooter fishing boats, sometimes called Danish or Scottish seiners,,, >click to read< 08:41
UK fishermen mock ‘laughable’ EU demand to extend Common Fisheries Policy for a year
In a statement this morning, Ms MacDonald made clear EU vessels landed 10 times more fish from UK waters than UK vessels do from theirs. It comes EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier stressed a trade deal between the UK and European Union was still possible Talks were extended on Sunday after Boris Johnson and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen agreed to continue the process despite major differences still remaining. For months, the talks have been deadlocked on the issues of fishing rights which have plagued fishing chiefs as well as state aid and the level playing field. >click to read< 11:59
Efforts to Break Deadlock Continue, Kilmore Quay Outlines its Fears – Last-ditch post-Brexit trade talks to resume between EU, UK
As efforts continue to agree a final Brexit deal, two Wexford fishermen have outlined on RTÉ Radio Countrywide how devastating loss of access to British waters will be. “Brexit is going to affect every port and harbour where fishing is the lifeblood of communities,” Will Bates (43), a third-generation fisherman,, Video, >click to read< 12:57
Last-ditch post-Brexit trade talks to resume between EU, UK – European Union and British negotiators Sunday entered what is potentially the final attempt to strike a deal over future trade ties, even though “significant differences remain” on three essential points. With less than four weeks remaining before the Jan. 1 cutoff day, >click to read<
Fishing: The Great Betrayal
The Common Fisheries Policy began as a land (or rather, sea) grab, evolved into a stitch-up and grew into an environmentally devastating and commercially disastrous scandal. The EU, UK government and avaricious commercial interests are all to blame – and we’re far from being out of the woods yet. >click to read< 18:57
Jimmy Buchan warns no-deal Brexit ‘will hurt’ Scottish fishing industry
The warnings come just days after the final round of scheduled talks between London and Brussels broke off, with EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier accusing his opposite number, David Frost, of not showing “any true will” to reach a deal. Since the outset of negotiations the EU has demanded “status quo” access to UK waters, which would essentially mean a continuation of the common fisheries policy, something that has been categorically rejected by Boris Johnson. Jimmy Buchan, chief executive of the Scottish Seafood Association, told the Commons environment committee that, despite the differences, a deal must be done “no question”. >click to read< 16:57
British fishermen should be able to double their catch in UK waters under new deal with EU
The intervention has come as fishing rights look set to dominate the fourth round of talks on a post-Brexit trade deal with the EU. The country’s fishermen’s federations said they backed the UK Government’s uncompromising stance in ruling out any extension to the transition period, which ends in December, saying any further delay to leaving the hated Common Fisheries Policy[CFP] would only prolong the uncertainty that the sector had suffered since the 2016 EU referendum. >click to read< 12:48
Boris fires back at EU’s ‘wishful thinking’ amid fears UK ready to surrender on fishing – Boris Johnson’s official spokesman stepped in amid reports of a potential compromise agreement over future access to the UK’s territorial waters. Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, has signalled he is ready to give ground on his “maximalist” position that calls for the same level of access to UK waters as in the Common Fisheries Policy. The Frenchman could agree to a Norway-style fisheries treaty, with annual negotiations on quota shares and access,,, >click to read<
‘Everybody wanted Brexit’, Arbroath’s situation is complex.
“We’re actually fishing creels on traditional whitefish grounds just now,” says John Cargill, discussing his day’s work at sea, one which threw up a decent catch of crabs. “There is no whitefish within 100 miles of here. “There is no point in building a boat to catch haddock when there is not a haddock in 100 miles. That’s my opinion.”,, “Most of the fishermen I know, everybody wanted Brexit,” said Mr Cargill, who started out in the industry in 1982, aged just 16, on the whitefish boats. “It might be a bit sticky on the shellfish to start with if we don’t get a deal but I think it’s worth a gamble instead of being run by the EU.” The 53-year-old said his vote for Brexit was “nothing to do” with his work as a shellfish specialist in Angus and claims he “couldn’t understand” why the UK chose to join the EU in the first place. more, >click to read< 10:52
U.S. ratifies The Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean
The United States has become the fourth jurisdiction after Canada, the European Union and Russia to ratify a landmark international agreement that aims to prevent unregulated commercial fishery in the high seas of the Central Arctic Ocean, officials at the State Department announced Tuesday. The Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean, which was signed in Ilulissat, Greenland last October, includes the so-called Arctic Five – Canada, Norway, Russia, Denmark (Greenland and the Faroe Islands), the U.S. – as well as the major fishing nations – Iceland, Japan, South Korea, China and the EU. >click to read< 17:56
Humpy invasion
While West Coast Americans – Alaskans among them – worry and fret about farmed Atlantic salmon escaping to invade the Pacific Ocean despite decades of failed stocking efforts aimed at helping them do so, the Norwegians, Scots and other Europeans are facing a real and significant problem with an invasive Pacific salmon – the ubiquitous Alaska humpy. The smallest of the Pacific salmon, the humpy – or pink salmon – is by far the most common species in the 49th state. Of the 224.6 million salmon caught in Alaska last year, 63 percent, some 114.6 million, were pinks, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. And Northern Europeans are now worried the highly adaptable and voracious humpy could become a common species in their coastal waters. Blame the Russians. >click to read<15:52
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
Fisheries Minister George Eustice announces new protections for lobster stocks
New protections to improve the long-term sustainability of England’s shellfish industry and support the next generation of fishermen have been announced by Fisheries Minister George Eustice. From Sunday (1 October), fishermen will no longer be able to land egg-bearing (‘berried’) lobsters and crawfish in English waters – a move that will protect the species until their eggs have hatched. The UK is leading the way in Europe in providing this new protection for shellfish – with a proposal for similar action to ban the landing of berried lobsters across the EU currently in discussion. click here to read the story 11:16
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
Scandinavian biologists see threat in crossbreeding by American, European lobsters
Scandinavian biologists say American and European lobsters are crossbreeding and their offspring can survive in European waters, but it is too early to tell if the hybrids can reproduce. Susanne Eriksson of the University of Gothenberg in Sweden and Ann-Lisbeth Agnalt of the Institute of Marine Research in Norway presented their findings on the threat that American lobsters found in the northeast Atlantic Ocean pose to their smaller European cousins Tuesday during the second day of the International Conference and Workshop on Lobster Biology & Management in Portland.,,, The EU said it might one day explore other protective measures that would not be so disruptive to trade if Sweden returns with further proof of an invasion. click here to read the story 08:38
Fishing Illegally – Menakhem Ben-Yami
According to the EU, NOAA and other “regulators,” ‘Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing (IUU) depletes fish stocks, destroys marine habitats, distorts competition, puts honest fishers at an unfair disadvantage, and weakens coastal communities, particularly in developing countries,’ etc., etc. The sundry of published documents, articles, and even learned papers, published not only in the fisheries-related, but also in the general press in recent years, are all bombarding us with IUU. If words could sink vessels, there’d be many more wrecks decorating the bottom of the sea. Read the rest here 16:21
Huge increases in fish quotas agreed by EU but will it be good for fishermen?
Read the article here Mixed news for Brixham fishermen as fish quota limits agreed – Read the article here New, higher fish quotas for Ireland welcomed by fishermen – Read the article here Britain nets new quotas deal for fishermen – Read the article here 08:27
Video Report – EU prawn ‘discard ban’: Northern Ireland fishermen apply for waste licence
Fishermen say they have been forced to apply for a waste licence to dump prawns at sea because of a new rule that stops fish being thrown overboard. Watch the video here 08:49
EU pressure on illegal fishing threatens more than 8,000 Thai fishing boats
More than 8,000 trawlers in 22 provinces are likely to lose their commercial fishing licences after checks revealed the registration numbers did not match the vessels, and many had failed to renew their permits for years. If all the boats were banned, it would be a terrible blow to the Thai fishing industry, which employs about 300,000 people. The discrepancies were uncovered when the government began regulating all fishing boats to comply with the EU‘s demand last April that Thailand end illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, or lose its market for seafood products. Bangkok was given six months to fall into line. Read the rest here 12:09
Khong Yai fishermen threaten to idle boats
The fisheries association in Trat’s Khlong Yai district has threatened to stop work on July 1, the deadline set by the government for all fishing boats to register and comply with the EU’s illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing rules. “The government wants to appease European countries, which buy only 30-billion-baht worth of fishery products per year from Thailand. But this would cause considerable damage to the Thai fishing industry, which is worth more than 100 billion baht. Read the rest here 10:24
Fishy EU goes fishing at Britain’s expense
The UK’s fishing industry is central to our national identity, and puts food on the table for millions. But Brussels wants to destroy it, and is doing a good job of doing so. The number of British fishermen has fallen by a quarter in the last two decades. Behind the scenes is the EU’s long-running (and much hated) Common Fisheries Policy which lays down the law for small time fishermen and huge trawlers alike, though the rules Read the rest here 07:50
