The relationships between Europe’s countries fishing around our coast is long standing. The London Convention embodied this relationship in 1964. The historic relationships are however much longer than that. Despite my coverage of this in March when the Times and Telegraph carried articles saying that UK would trigger exit from the London Convention it is not at all clear that this has been done. Fishing News reported after the official Brexit announcement on March 29^th the Government had not triggered exit from the London Convention. Can anyone clarify this? Email me – bob.earll@coastms.co.uk.

Guardian ‘Denmark to contest fisheries plans The British government’s plan to “take back control” of its waters after leaving the EU is about to be challenged by a claim from Denmark that its fishermen have a historical right to access to the seas around Britain dating back to the 1400s.

Officials in Copenhagen have mined the archives to build a legal case that could potentially be fought in the international court of justice in The Hague, although officials hasten to say that this is not their intention. Denmark is seeking a Brexit deal that recognises the right of its fleet to continue to exploit a hundred shared stocks of species such as cod, herring, mackerel, plaice and sand eel.

Officials say 40% of Danish fishermen’s annual take is from waters within the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone around Britain, over which the UK may seek to impose greater control when it leaves the EU. Some of Denmark’s coastal communities are almost entirely economically dependent on access to UK waters. The development suggests that leaving the EU will not reap the dividends promised by prominent leave campaigners, including the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, who has claimed that the union’s “crazy” common fisheries policy has halved UK employment in the industry.

The Danish position is likely to be mirrored by the seven other member states who will be affected if the UK seeks to limit access to its waters to EU fleets after 2019, it is understood. Denmark’s foreign affairs minister, Anders Samuelsen, told the Guardian the issue was crucial to many communities in Denmark and that they would be making their case through the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier.

“Danish fishermen have historically been fishing across the North Sea. The common fisheries policy in the EU has regulated this, based on historical rights and preserving our common stocks that don’t follow economic zones,” he said.

“Clearly, this is very important for many fishing communities especially along the Jutland coast, and we all put our full support behind the EU’s negotiators to find the best way forward.” Click here to read more