Industry associations in Denmark have accused the UK of turning its back on the agreement struck over Brexit by placing the British part of the Dogger Bank off-limits – and the Danish industry is demanding that this must have consequences for Britain.
‘This is in defiance of the Brexit agreement, which gave EU fishermen permission to fish in British waters,’ state representatives of the Danish Fishermen’s Association, the Danish Pelagic PO and Marine Ingredients Denmark.
‘Britain has decided to prohibit fishing for sandeel on the British part of the Dogger Bank. It is a major issue of principle for the British to turn their backs on the Brexit agreement, and it is a disaster for the fisheries and the fishmeal industry, where sandeel has historically made up the primary share of the factories’ raw material,’ the three organisations state.
‘When the EU and Britain reached an agreement on the conditions for Brexit, it was a decisive factor that EU fishermen could continue to fish in British waters – and which EU fishermen paid dearly to get Britain to agree to. The UK is now defying that agreement.’
According to the Danish industry bodies, there is no scientific evidence that the closure will have the desired effect – but this is a move that triggers anger within the fishing industry, and this Britain being able to walk away from the Brexit agreement without consequences represents a major and fundamental problem.
‘This is a scandal and a humiliation for the EU. Under the Brexit agreement, Danish fishermen paid dearly for access to British waters,’ the Danish organisations state.
‘Now fishermen are losing access as Britain defies the agreement. This is beneath contempt. This is a matter that must be taken to the very highest level. The UK cannot be allowed to renege on the agreements made with the EU,’ said Svend-Erik Andersen, chairman of the Danish Fishermen’s Association.
DTU Aqua has carried out a study of the sandeel fishery and concluded that there are no lasting effects on the marine environment, also concluding that the size of the sandeel population does not affect other fish stocks, or populations of marine mammals and seabirds.
ICES has also stated that the biological advice for sandeel is ecosystem-based and thus takes into account that sandeel also form part of the food base for seabirds and other predators. The UK and the EU jointly asked ICES to assess the closure.
‘So it comes as a surprise that the results of this one are ignored,’ the Danish organisations state.
‘The closure has major economic consequences for fishing. And Brexit has already hit us hard,’ said DPPO chairman Jens Schneider Rasmussen.
‘We are pushing for the government’s senior ministers to contact the UK and the EU.’
The closure will undoubtedly have its effects on the Danish pelagic sector, and on the fishmeal industry as fishmeal landings from this zone have been the basis of Danish exports of fishmeal and fish oil worth DKK2.7 billion annually since 2015.
‘It’s a critical situation. These are significant values for Denmark and it is our clear conviction that this is a breach of the wording of the agreement that mutual access to fishing in the waters of the parties must be granted. The legal implications of the British decision should be thoroughly investigated and the possibilities for legal action clarified,’ said Anne Mette Bæk, director of Marine Ingredients Denmark.
‘It’s serious if the EU and the heads of state in the EU let the UK run renege on their agreement. We cannot accept this, and we are calling for this to have consequences for Britain.’
