As Agriculture and Fisheries Council ministers gather in Brussels on Monday, 26 February, Denmark and Sweden are set to voice strong opposition to the unilateral fisheries management measures recently enacted by the United Kingdom.
On 8 February, the UK notified its decision to ban sandeel fishing in English waters in ICES area 4 (North Sea) and in all Scottish waters for vessels of any nationality from 26 March 2024. “This means that EU vessels will be deprived of the possibility to fish sandeel in UK waters in 2024 and the years to come. These are yet new examples of UK initiatives on unilateral management measures with severe consequences for the EU catch sector and processing industry”, explains Denmark.
The decision by the UK and Scottish authorities will have serious economic consequences for the Danish and Swedish fishing and processing industries.
The Danish delegation is concerned, as the total value of Danish and Swedish landings of sandeel in UK waters between 2017 and 2022 amounts to more than €20.7 million on average per year, not including derivative negative effects for the processing and aquaculture industries.
Link to the note for the Council: https://aeur.eu/f/ay0 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)