The Department for Exiting the EU has published proposed legal text to underpin the Implementation Period for when we have left the EU, a significant step towards an agreement in March. This includes comments on the text for fisheries. A Defra spokesperson said: Our proposal makes clear that when the UK leaves the EU on 29 March 2019, we will become an independent coastal state. The Treaties will no longer apply, we will no longer be a Member State, and we will leave the Common Fisheries Policy. We will be building new partnerships with the EU and other countries like Norway, Faroes and Iceland – these will be equal partnerships between independent Coastal States. Our proposal means that during the implementation period we will sit alongside other Coastal States as a third country and equal partner in international annual quota negotiations. Likewise, for fish stocks that we only share with the EU, we will negotiate as a third country and equal partner to agree the total allowable catches of those shared stocks. We are looking forward to working closely with EU and other Coastal State partners to ensure the sustainable management of our shared fish stocks. We look forward to discussing these proposals with the EU’.