Report damns impact of Brexit on fishing industry
Brexit caused “a perfect storm” of extra paperwork, labour shortages and financial difficulties for the fishing industry, a damning new report has found.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Fisheries released the report today (Monday) following conversations with people across the industry about how Brexit had impact them, their businesses and their livelihoods.
“Brexit: Voices of the Fishing Industry” found the industry had been hit hard by the impact of leaving the EU – despite claims in the build-up to the EU referendum that UK fishing would prosper post-Brexit.
It was also claimed that fishermen would be able to improve their quotas once outside the unpopular Common Fisheries Policy.
But one Shetland fisherman told the APPG that, despite an abundance of cod around the isles, their quota was “miniscule”.
“It has been said by skippers recently that you can catch your year’s quota in one day.
“Why are we still using the broken quota system the EU put in place now that we are an independent coastal state?”
MP Alistair Carmichael is vice-chairman of the APPG, and suggested the report after leading a parliamentary topic on the debate last year.
He said it was clear that “more and better engagement is needed” between the government and the fishing industry.
“Pragmatic, serious efforts to support the fishing industry are required from ministers in order to ensure that coastal communities can continue to thrive into the future,” he said.
David Spence
I would be interested, under Brexit, how the British Fishing Industry would manage and sustain fishing stocks around the UK? What would be their answer to sustaining and maintaining fish stocks without getting involved in an international dispute with other EU countries or our Scandinavien neighbours?
As far as I can see, Brexit is nothing more than to benefit the Tories and nobody else? Brexit is to have a trade agreement with the USA, and the justification for the mass privatisation of most goverment responsibilities and duties of care going to US companies, where the Tories will benefit immensely as share-holders or in management positions of such companies.
This would do Shetland alot of harm and force the Council to tap into its reserves to sustain what was Local Authority needs and services previously under government control via taxes. The Council would be forced to cut down on what services they provided and could, potentially, force people to leave Shetland and/or the main islands within Shetland?