A new report by a fisheries college in the United Kingdom has found that fishing vessels from the European Union catch more fish in the U.K.’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) than British ships.
The findings have encouraged pro-Brexit fisheries representatives to continue to push for the UK to reclaim control over its EEZ as a route toward boosting the country’s fishing and seafood industries.
“This detailed analysis of these landing figures is a bombshell that reveals the truly shocking extent of how our rich fishing grounds have been given away in recent decades,” Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, said. ““The UK and Scottish governments must take heed of the startling figures contained within this report and work together as a team to ensure that the best possible deal is reached for our hardworking fishermen. It would be a monumental betrayal of our coastal communities if this opportunity was traded away in the forthcoming Brexit negotiations.”
The report, Fish Landings from the UK EEZ, was produced by the North Atlantic Fisheries College’s Marine Centre at the University of the Highlands and Islands in Scalloway, Scotland. Released 11 October, it estimates that between 2012 and 2014, fishing boats from other EU countries caught 58 percent of the fish and shellfish landed in waters inside the UK’s EEZ, a 200-mile marine zone stretching out from the country’s land borders.
EU vessels caught about 650,000 metric tons of fish and shellfish worth more than GBP 400 million (USD 488 million, EUR 443 million) annually in the UK’s EEZ between 2012 and 2014, the report concluded.
UK fishing boats fishing in EU waters landed 90,000 metric tons of fish and shellfish worth about GBP 100 million (USD 122 million, EUR 111 million) annually between 2012 and 2014, the report found.
“Brexit provides a sea of opportunity to breathe new life into our coastal communities by ensuring increased catching opportunities and fit for purpose management within our own EEZ,” Armstrong said. “Brexit has the real potential to turn Scotland into a world leading sustainable seafood harvesting and exporting nation.”
