On Wednesday 4 July, the UK government published a White Paper setting out its vision for an independent national fisheries policy after the country leaves the EU.
In the White paper, “Sustainable Fisheries for Future Generations”, the government says that it wants the United Kingdom to take back control of British waters and secure a “fairer” share of fishing opportunities. It proposes measures to revitalise coastal communities and cement the UK’s position as a world leader in marine protection. The declared aim is to ensure a sustainable and viable fishing industry.
A consequence of what has been proposed is that UK fishermen will, from 2020, face annual negotiations to secure their fishing rights in waters shared with EU countries, while other European countries may lose many of their current rights to fish in British waters. This is a blow for the other EU countries which are dependent to a great extent on British waters for their fishing industry.
Draft law. The UK government plans to bring forward a draft fisheries law (fisheries Bill) giving the UK full control of its waters and the ability to set its own quotas for UK-based vessels.
Once outside the EU, the UK will be an independent coastal state and will regain control of its waters and natural resources, the UK government says. It will also have the flexibility to negotiate with other countries and ensure stocks are fished sustainably.
The White Paper will chart the course for managing fisheries after Brexit.
System felt to be unfair. It sets out how, as an independent state, the UK will be able to move towards a fairer share of fishing opportunities. Under the present system, dating from the 1970s, UK fishermen believe they have received a poor deal: on average between 2012 and 2016, other EU member states’ vessels landed around 760,000 tonnes of fish annually caught in UK waters, whereas UK vessels landed approximately 90,000 tonnes of fish caught in other member states’ waters per year.
Sea of opportunity. UK Prime Minister Theresa May recalls that she had promised that, after Brexit, “we will take back control of our waters, while ensuring we don’t see our fishermen unfairly denied access to other waters”. Secretary of State for the Environment Michael Gove argues that “leaving the EU creates a sea of opportunity for our fishing industry. Outside the common fisheries policy we can take back control of our waters and revitalise our coastal communities”.
Zonal attachment. While the UK will continue to abide by common fisheries policy rules during the transition period, from 2020, it will be negotiating access to waters and fishing opportunities as an independent coastal state. The White Paper will set out a number of methods to explore fairer allocation of fishing opportunities, such as “zonal attachment” – which is based on distribution of fish stocks, rather than historical data.
End of discards. Sitting at the heart of the white paper will be the UK government’s commitment to sustainable fisheries, including ending the wasteful discarding of fish (landing obligation) and making clear that vessels will only be allowed to fish in UK waters if they adhere to the UK’s high sustainability standards.
The government also pledges to publish an annual statement setting out the health of fish stocks and based on the latest scientific evidence. If stocks are struggling, the four UK fisheries administrations will work together to put in place a comprehensive recovery plan to restore them to healthy levels.
Choke species. Further, the White Paper will outline a new approach to tackling the problem in mixed fisheries of “choke species” (one of the consequences of the landing obligation): sometimes fishing for certain species cannot be justified from an economic point of view as by-catches are significant and quotas for these species low, resulting in a halt to fishing.
The White Paper will propose two new approaches in England: a reserve of quota that could be used to offset choke species, coupled with a new scheme to help fishermen unable to find quotas to set against their catch. Interested parties will now be able to share their views on the proposals outlined in the White Paper during a 10-week consultation period. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)