The UK is leaving the European Union. Yesterday, July 4th, the British released a 60-page plan addressing future commercial fishing in U.K. waters after Brexit.
The U.K. fishing plan will see the U.K. letting Norwegians & other Europeans commercially fish within British waters, but with some alteration to the existing regulations.
TAKING CONTROL
U.K. Minister of Fisheries Michael Gove gave a statement of the U.K’s future fishing plans, saying; “This will create a wealth of new opportunities for our fishing industry.’ –
“As we leave the E.U.’s Common Fisheries Policy, we can again take control of our British waters and revitalize our coastal communities.’ –
“Like other independent coastal states, we can decide who has access to our waters and we can ensure that a greater proportion of the fish in our waters is caught by British vessels, landed in British ports and processed by British producers,” said Minister Gove.
NORWAY & EUROPE
Norway is mentioned 15 times within the plan, and Minister Gove makes it quite clear that fishermen from other European countries will have continued access to British waters after Brexit.
However, the British intend to secure larger quotas for themselves than they were previously allowed under E.U. regulations. The fishing quotas within the E.U. are based on historical fish patterns taken from 1973 to 1978.
With this new plan, the British will place more emphasis on geographic affiliation of fisheries, which they believe will generate larger quotas for British fishermen.
SIMILAR NORWEGIAN PLAN
The U.K. is looking forward to annual fisheries negotiations, similar to the system Norway has with the E.U.
While he would not be nailed down to what percentage of fish the U.K. would be allowed to keep after Brexit, U.K. Minister of Fisheries Michael Gove said that there was no reason the UK should be in a “weaker position” than Norway or Iceland; with both nations retaining 80% & 95% respectively of fish caught within national waters.
The U.K. “white paper” fishing policy document, which argues that the current E.U. fishing system is unfair & outdated, faces a 10 week consultation period.
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May has said that Britain will leave the E.U. Common Fisheries Policy, but under a so-called transition agreement, quotas will remain in place during the two years after the UK leaves the bloc in March, 2019.
© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today