THE UK Government’s Brexit deal has come under further heavy fire from Scotland’s fishing industry for falling “very far short of the commitments and promises that were made”.
Elspeth Macdonald, the chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF), attacked the EU trade deal in a scathing statement released earlier today.
Macdonald said the deal “does not restore sovereign UK control over fisheries, and does not permit us to determine who can catch what, where and when in our own waters”.
“We are now a coastal state with one hand tied behind our back”, she added.
READ MORE: Tories deny fishing boss's claims of Brexit deal 'betrayal' of industry
The statement goes on: “From January 1, 2021, the EU fleet has full access to the UK EEZ [exclusive economic zone] for what is essentially six years, as fisheries are managed on an annual basis.
“Yes, the UK fleet has reciprocal access to EU waters, but they are far more reliant on our waters than we are on theirs – EU vessels fish six times more in UK waters than we fish in theirs.
“The adjustments to UK shares of fish are modest at best, and in some cases will leave us with some very real practical fisheries management problems.
“A fundamental error was made by the government not securing sufficient quota uplift in some key stocks to take account of international swaps, which will no longer be possible in the same way. Anyone involved in fisheries would know this gap had to be bridged for vessels in the whitefish fleet. We expect government to come forward with solutions to the problem they have created.
“The UK is not receiving a 25% uplift in quotas, but instead will gain 25% of the value of what was the EU’s share in 2019. This does not equate to a 25% uplift in quota. “And significantly, by the end of the adjustment period this will fall very far short of the government’s stated aim of achieving zonal attachment.”
SNP MP Gavin Newlands said the statement was “uncomfortable for Scottish Tories, particularly those in the North East”. He added: “Presumably they'll be voting against the deal given their commitments to the fishing industry?”
READ MORE: ‘Massive sell-out’ as Brexit deal fine print reveals Scots fishermen betrayal
His colleague John Nicolson MP added: “Sad but predictable. Scottish fishing representatives discover that they may well, as a result of Boris Johnson @ScotTories broken promises, get to land less not more fish. And they’re angry.”
Tory minister Michael Gove has publicly defended the deal, claiming that the UK would be “in a stronger position than we were in the EU and in the common fisheries policy [CFP]”.
He told the Today programme: “In the common fisheries policy we were only able to access about 50% of the fish in our waters. It is the case that we are now getting a significant uptick in that number, so we will have by 2026 about two-thirds of the fish in our waters.”
However, the SFF said: ““Although we are glad to be out of the CFP, our battle to secure better arrangements for our fishermen is far from over.
“We are now a coastal state with one hand tied behind our back and the industry’s task in the months and years ahead is to right the wrongs of this deal.”
The statement from the SFF chief executive comes on the same day as the Scottish Government released analysis showing the trade deal will lead to “a fall in the quantity of fish” Scotland’s skippers can catch.
READ MORE: Brexit trade deal means 'fall in quantity of fish' Scotland’s skippers can catch
Currently, Scottish boats can catch what’s in their quota, lease extra quota from other producers, or swap quotas of fish.
The leasing and swapping quota is a key bargaining tool to allow vessels to operate legally in very complex mixed fisheries in the northern waters of the Scottish fishing zone.
The Scottish Government research says that under the Brexit deal, the swapping of quotas with individual member states will no longer be allowed and leasing will be prohibitively expensive.
This, they add, will ultimately reduce the quantity of fish in key stocks available for the Scottish industry to land.
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