The headlines given to George Eustice’s statement (Oct 30^th) seem to be based on the work on the analysis of fisheries data was carried out at the request of the Shetland Fishermen’s Association (SFA) by Ian Napier of the NAFC. The Telegraph piece moves from the bold headline to the relationship with the French in the channel, and scallops!

There is also more evidence emerging in written evidence to the House of Lords committee reviewing fisheries after Brexit published on the 27^th October from Defra, Fishing for Leave, IEEP & John Ashworth

Telegraph Oct 31^st George Eustice ‘British fisherman will catch hundreds of thousands of tonnes more fish after Brexit, minister says

British fishermen will be able to catch hundreds of thousands of tonnes more fish after Brexit because it will be able to overhaul “unfair” fishing quotas, the fisheries minister has said.

George Eustice said that Brexit will provide a “good deal” for fishermen because current quotas give a “disproportionately large” share of catches to fishermen from the EU.

He said that after Brexit the UK will strike new “reciprocal” arrangements with the European Union which will give fishermen a greater share of catches in British waters and abroad.

He said that while a member of the European Union negotiations about fishing quotas had stalled because of the “institutionalised inertia” of Brussels.

He told The Daily Telegraph:  “It’s pretty clear that Brexit can be a good deal for British fishermen because we regain control. The equation is that they have 1million tonnes of UK fish and we get about 150,000 tonnes of fish of various species.

“There are areas we would hope to get a better deal, particularly with cod and plaice. The truth is that things will change in a very fundamental way. In the Channel the French get twice as much plaice and three times as much Dover sole as we do, there is an imbalance.”

Mr Eustice believes that fishermen in the Channel and the West Country could particularly benefit from reforms to fishing quotas. He highlighted the fact that Britain’s share of plaice and sole in the English Channel is “incredibly low”, with a similar situation for cod and haddock in the Celtic sea.

He said that here is no “balance” to Britain’s fishing agreements with the EU, and that it “benefits more from access to the UK than the UK benefits from access to them”. Click here to read more