There has been no shortage of fury and plenty of wild punditry over the last few days since the terms of the Brexit transitional arrangements hit the press at the weekend, with the revelation that the UK’s fishing industry can expect to remain tied to the CFP for the duration of the two-year transition period.
Clyde fishermen parted company with the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation in November last year, and have announced that the Clyde Fishermen’s Association (CFA) has instead become part of the Communities Inshore Fisheries Alliance (CIFA), which it describes as a politically neutral umbrella voice for fishing associations and fishing-related businesses.
The Brexit draft guidelines that specifically cite requirement for fisheries to be included in a Free Trade Agreement have been welcomed by the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation (KFO).
The European Fisheries Alliance (EUFA) welcomes the agreement in principle on a transition period announced by EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier and the UK Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union David Davis MP.
MEPs have backed plans to end the EU-Comoros Fisheries Agreement, due to the Comoros’ involvement in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. This is the first time that the EU has terminated a fisheries agreement for this reason.
The UK’s environment secretary Michael Gove and fisheries minister George Eustice, who is also MP for the Camborne and Redruth constituency where fishing is a key part of the economy, can expect to have some explaining ahead of them, given the expectation they raised over Britain being able to regain exclusive control of its fisheries, according to the Cornish FPO.
‘Our governments have let us down,’ said SFF chief executive Bertie Armstrong, commenting on the deal that means relative stability and therefore reciprocal access to fishing grounds will remain in place throughout the two-year post-Brexit transition period.
Representatives of fishermen’s organisations and co-operatives from England, France, Belgium, Holland and the Channel Islands gathered in Devon for the 39th annual Mid-Channel Potting Conference, and following two days of discussion have released a statement to the effect that they intend to ensure that cohabitation agreements should continue to be made, industry to industry, into the future.
After tracking the satellite positioning data of 70,000 fishing vessels for the past four years, a group of researchers have concluded that commercial fishing covers over 55% of the ocean's surface. Europêche has hit back at the claim that fishing therefore occupies four times as much space as agriculture in terms of square kilometres.
The furore over claims by environmental organisations of suspicious fishing activity continues as the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) has gently set out in response to a National Geographic article, specifically mentioning a vessel operated by Austral Fisheries, that AIS is not the same thing as a VMS.
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