UK Fisheries boss: Next six months will 'shape future for fishermen'

UNITED KINGDOM
Wednesday, January 15, 2020, 00:00 (GMT + 9)

Sir Barney White-Spunner said it is “vital” that permanent deals are reached which would enable UK trawlers to catch fish in the Barents Sea after Brexit

New permanent deals must be reached to allow UK fishing firms to continue operating in waters around Norway and Russia post-Brexit.

The first six months of the year could “shape the future for our fishermen,” according to Sir Barney White-Spunner, advisory board chairman at Hull-based UK Fisheries.

Sir White-Spunner said it is “vital” that permanent deals are reached which would enable trawlers to catch fish in the Barents Sea – a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean – once the UK leaves the EU.

UK Fisheries’ Kirkella trawler currently catches fish in the White Sea under an agreement between EU nations and the Scandinavian country.

Sir White-Spunner said: “When the UK leaves the EU and is no longer bound by the Common Fisheries Policy, our industry undoubtedly stands to gain.

“The government will have the freedom to allocate quotas for UK waters as it sees fit, but there is still likely to be some kind of trade and access relationship with the EU, as well as with states currently known as ‘third countries’ – not least Norway, the Faroes and Greenland.

►Northern External Waters post-Brexit: 'Northern External Waters' is the term used by the EU to refer the waters to the north of EU waters (Source: ukfisheries.net)

“At UK Fisheries, we are of course particularly concerned with the fortunes of the English distant-waters fishing fleet, which for centuries has operated in the rich but dangerous fishing grounds of the Barents and Greenland Seas.”

The boss of UK Fisheries last year spoke of the damaging impact a no-deal Brexit could have on the company.

Source: Phil Winter/hulldailymail.co.uk

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