The prospect of losing up to a third of overall Danish fisheries revenue, equivalent to a billion DKK, has prompted Danish fishermen’s organisations to join forces with fishermen from eight other EU countries.
Fishing has high economic and employment implications for many Danish ports and fishermen hope therefore that continue fishing even after the UK triggers Article 50, setting in progress the process to leave the EU.
The Danish Fishermen’s PO and the Danish Pelagic PO are both of the opinion that fish stocks in both the North Sea and the sea around the UK are common stocks. Both organisations believe that fishing should continue even after a British farewell to the EU and that fisheries continue to be managed sustainably jointly and in co-operation with the EU and the UK.
‘Danish fishermen have historically had access to fish close to the UK, and Denmark and the EU must defend this. This has been the case since the quota system introduced by the EU in 1983, but also previously Danish fishermen had free fishing right up to 12 nautical miles off UK shores,’ said Niels Wichmann, President of DFPO.
British fishermen have demanded that EU fishermen, including those from Denmark, should be denied access to UK fishing areas.
Niels Wichmann believes that there is an urgent need to tie fishing rights to a trade agreement with the UK.
‘They export two-thirds of their fish to the EU. They have a interest in continuing this. Therefore, we believe in retaining access to fishing and they retain their market for fish,’ he said, commenting that UK waters have in recent years accounted for approximately one billion DKK worth of Danish landings. Numbers vary year from year, but the percentage is stable at around 30% of of overall fishing revenues.
