Marine / Rural affairs secretary defends fishing deal
THE AGREEMENT to ‘reset’ relationships with the EU has been defended as a “reasonably good deal for the UK fishing sector” by the secretary of state for the environment, food and rural affairs.
Steve Reed was answering questions from North Isles MP Alistair Carmichael when he appeared before the UK parliament’s environment, food and rural affairs select committee on Tuesday, which the Orkney and Shetland MP chairs.
The far-reaching Brexit reset deal, announced during an EU/UK summit in London on Monday, has been described as a “horror show for Scottish fishermen”.
The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, along with all other fisheries representative bodies such as the Shetland Fishermen’s Association, were united in their condemnation of the deal to allow EU vessels to fish in UK waters for another 12 years.
Reed told the committee that in light of the EU’s demands the agreement reached for the UK fishing industry was the best that could have been achieved.
The local fish export sector told Shetland News it was too early to say what, if any, tangible improvements easier access to EU markets would bring.
Reed said: “Compared to what some of the speculation was, and indeed the pressures on our negotiating team; the EU were interested in more quota, more access in UK territorial waters, they were looking for a deal on fishing in perpetuity.
“And they were trying to achieve that by making what I felt was a spurious link between fishing and the SPS deal [the agreement on the application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures].
“Our negotiating team held absolutely firm, and as a result we have a deal for 12 years (…) we are rolling over the best of the years that fishing sector has had under the previous governments’ deal.
“So, no loss at all of quota or access into territorial waters, but there are further benefits as well because the UK fishing sector exports 70 per cent of our catch into Europe.
“That has now become much easier, much simpler, much less costly.”
For the full exchange between the secretary of state and isles MP Alistair Carmichael please watch the video below.
Meanwhile, Hansen Black of Lerwick-based fish sales company Shetland Fish said the sector has had no indication or communication from the government what the changes in border control would mean for the day-to-day business.
He said any reduction in documentation and border spot checks would be welcomed, but following the initial upheaval created by Brexit, the export of whitefish from Shetland to the French market at Boulogne-sur-Mer was again a “relatively smooth” operation.
It takes two days from fish being landed in Lerwick or Scalloway for a consignment to reach the French market, and any reduction in red tape will make life for exporters easier – but it will continue to take 48 hours to get the fish from Shetland to France.
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