The Scottish government believes that negotiations between the EU and the UK on access to waters and fishing quotas "should take place in well-established Coastal States fora, in line with accepted norms of international law", it told EUROPE on Friday 7 February. Thus, access to UK waters should be "negotiated on an annual basis, with no permanently fixed quota share", the Scottish government argues (see EUROPE 12414/9).
In a Scotland that largely supported remaining in the EU, fishermen are a minority very much in favour of Brexit, and they are hoping for an increase in their fishing opportunities.
For the Scottish Government, in future EU-UK fisheries relations, "access should be negotiated on an annual basis, with no permanently fixed quota share".
A spokesman for the Scottish government also points out that "any trade talks are likely to be protracted, made more difficult by UK government deadlines and potential divergence on citizens' rights, regulatory standards and environmental protections". If the negotiations are not completed by the end of 2020, under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, "the UK once again faces a 'no-deal' crashout, which according to Scottish ministers would be a disaster for Scotland," the spokesman added.
The EU's desire to include fisheries as part of the overall negotiations on future relations "underlines long-standing fears that, in order to secure other UK economic interests, Scottish seafood interests would be treated as expendable by the UK government, with the risk of ceding permanent access to Scottish waters and fixed quota shares", the spokesperson continued.
The Scottish Government advocates the organisation of "annual coastal states negotiations, the key aspects of which are access to waters and measures to manage shared stocks. We will also be looking for a future relationship with the EU that protects the interests of the whole seafood supply chain in Scotland, both onshore and offshore, including the needs of our processing and aquaculture sectors".
According to Scotland, two groups of fisheries negotiations will take place in 2020 during the transition period on : - specific fisheries management measures. The Withdrawal Agreement stipulates that, where these measures relate to 2020, the United Kingdom will be a consultee in the process. However, where these measures relate to 2021, beyond the transition period, the United Kingdom will negotiate as an independent Coastal State and will be excluded from the December EU Council; - the negotiation of the EU/UK Fisheries Framework Agreement (target date : 1 July), as provided for in the political declaration. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)