Guardian: Brexit is a red herring when it comes to the plight of UK fishermen

John Lichfield

Small fishing companies are harmed not by the EU, but by government rules that allow big interests to corner the quotas

Pericles, Prince of Tyre, Act 2, scene 1:

Third Fisherman: Master, I marvel how the fishes live in the sea.

First Fisherman: Why, as men do a-land; the great ones eat up the little ones.

William Shakespeare might have been writing about the 21st-century fishing industry. Forget, for a moment, “taking back our waters”. The real scandal in British and European fisheries over the past 35 years has been the relentless hoovering up of catching opportunities by big boats and big companies.

Ukip, Conservative Brexiteers and some fishermen’s leaders would like you to believe that the important battleground in European fishing is Britain versus the rest. It is not.

A more damaging issue, one that transcends national boundaries, is “big” versus “small”. In several EU countries, but most notably in Britain, powerful trawlers and large fishing interests have squeezed out the smaller, more environmentally friendly boats on which local communities depend.

None of this is directly “caused” by the existence of the much-maligned EU fisheries policy. Nor is it certain – despite glittering promises by the UK and Scottish governments – that Brexit will bring much relief to coastal fishermen.

A much-delayed fisheries white paper, now expected this month, will set out the government’s vision of an independent British fishing policy post-Brexit. Drafts circulating within the fishing industry are as slippery as freshly caught mackerel.

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