A new amendment to the U.K. Fisheries Bill has been introduced that seeks to secure a better deal for the country’s fishermen following Brexit.
According to the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the update would place a legal obligation on the secretary of state when negotiating a fisheries agreement with the European Union to pursue a fairer share of fishing opportunities than the United Kingdom currently receives under the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
DEFRA said this would overhaul the current system where U.K. fishermen have received a poor deal that is based on fishing patterns from the 1970s. On average between 2012 and 2016, other E.U. member states’ vessels landed approxmiately 760,000 metric tons (MT) of fish worth GBP 540 million (USD 686 million, EUR 601.6 million) annually caught in U.K. waters, whereas U.K. vessels landed approximately 90,000 MT of fish worth GBP 110 million (USD 139.8 million, EUR 122.6 million) caught in other member states’ waters per year.
U.K. Environment Secretary Michael Gove has also announced GBP 37.2 million (USD 47.3 million, EUR 41.4 million) of extra funding to boost the U.K. fishing industry during the Implementation Period. This is in addition to the existing European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) funding of approximately GBP 32 million (USD 40.7 million, EUR 35.7 million) per year.
The U.K. government and the Devolved Administrations have already committed to match the EMFF funding with around GBP 60 million (USD 76.3 million, EUR 66.9 million), so the extra funding would support more projects. Overall, the sector will benefit by a total of GBP 320 million (USD 406.9 million, EUR 356.7 million).
Gove has also committed that the government will put in place new arrangements to support the U.K. fishing industry from 2021, with the creation of four new schemes comparable to EMFF to deliver funding for each nation. The Devolved Administrations will lead on their own schemes.
“We are taking back control of our waters and will secure a fairer share of fishing opportunities for the whole of the U.K. fishing industry as we leave the E.U. The amendment to the Fisheries Bill will give legal weight to this commitment,” Gove said. “New funding will boost the industry as we become an independent coastal state, preparing it to receive a greater share of future fishing opportunities.”
The new schemes will be introduced after EMFF has closed in 2020. Details of these will be set at the 2019 Spending Review.
In England, the scheme will:
- Support innovation in technologies to enhance economic growth, reduce environmental impact and improve fishing safety
- Improve port infrastructure so more fish can be landed in U.K. ports, and help the sector take advantage of new export opportunities
- Boost coastal communities by providing benefits to areas that depend on a vibrant and profitable industry
- Help the sector adjust to new arrangements on access and fishing opportunities by improving capacity and capability to exploit new export opportunities and markets
