Brexit and its affects on fishing, especially in the event of a no-deal, are looking more and more problematic … three articles

1.  Jane Sandell from the UK fishing sector on Radio 4 – effects of a no deal will mean for one of the UKs largest vessel not fishing (listen beyond the fish and chip bit!) Click here to go to the Twitter feed 

2.  Immigration rules putting Scots fishing industry at risk

The Herald Scotland ‘SCOTLAND’s lucrative west coast fishing fleet is on the brink of collapse due to a “crazy” immigration law which effectively prohibits non-European nationals from fishing on local boats, it has been warned. The Clyde Fishermen’s Association has revealed that 20 of 65 members’ boats have gone under in the last year and a half because they cannot recruit internationally.

The situation is set to get worse with further bankruptcies, which threatens the £80million a year industry. Meanwhile, because of the vagaries of the immigration laws, their east coast colleagues can freely employ crew from outside the European Economic Area.’

3.  A ‘Brexit bonanza’ for UK fishing? That’s a fishy tale with an unhappy ending

Guardian – John Lichfield   The industry may become one of the starkest examples no-deal folly, with those dependent on EU markets facing devastation  One man’s fish is another man’s poisson. Not for much longer, it seems. French fishermen are growing alarmed. They fear a no-deal Brexit will exclude them from “British” waters where they have fished for centuries. The same applies to fishers from Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany. More surprisingly (to some), fears of a cliff-edge Brexit are also sending waves of panic through parts of the UK fishing industry.  Changes in quotas demand patient negotiation, not instant abrogation of centuries-old rights. No negotiation has started. After years of one-sided propaganda – “our fish”, “plundering Europeans”, “a sea of opportunity” – a more complicated picture of European fishing benefits and losses is finally breaking the surface.  The nets of the UK and its maritime neighbours have been inextricably tangled for centuries. Cutting them apart will be calamitous for some European fleets – especially for boats from Brittany, Normandy and the Pas de Calais. It will also be disastrous for locally important and ecologically sustainable parts of the British industry. Click here to read more