Fishermen trapped obeying EU laws

THE SCOTTISH fishing industry has warned that fishermen could become “powerless bystanders in their own waters” should it continue to by governed by Brussels during an implementation period as the UK negotiates the details of its withdrawal from the EU.

Rather than a “sea of opportunity” which could be unlocked as soon as the UK leaves the EU in March next year, Brexit could now mean the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) will stay in place for a further 21 months until the end of 2020.

The Scottish White Fish Producers’ Association (SWFPA) and the Shetland Fishermen’s Association (SFA) described such a scenario as “extremely damaging” and have now renewed their call for the UK government to give a clear commitment on leaving the CFP on 29 March 2019.

SWFPA chief executive Mike Park said failure to do so would be completely unacceptable.

“An implementation period in which the UK had no voting rights in framing EU laws and regulations concerning its own fisheries would expose Scottish fishermen to serious harm,” he said.

“We depend on the outcomes of annual fisheries talks and international agreements for our very existence.

“It would be unthinkable to relegate our fishermen to the status of powerless bystanders in their own waters, unable to control or affect what happens in them.”

SFA executive officer Simon Collins added: “It would be a nonsense for the UK to hand responsibility for its waters straight back to Brussels at the point of Brexit.

“It would not be an extension of the status quo – it would be far worse, as we would be powerless to prevent non-UK fleets hammering our fish stocks during the implementation period.

“We insist on full control over access to our waters and the management of our fisheries as an independent coastal state from March 2019, when we withdraw from the EU and CFP.

“An implementation period may make sense for some business sectors, but fishing is emphatically not one of them.”

Campaign group Fishing for Leave said on Thursday that the proposed transition period was “existential threat” to the survival of the fishing industry.