Reeled in: EU council approves post-Brexit deal on shared fishing stocks
The European Council has backed a deal between the EU and UK on their shared fishing stocks, after months of wrangling between both parties.
The agreement determines fishing rights for around 100 shared fish stocks in EU and UK waters, including the total allowable catch limit for each species.
The terms of the new agreement will apply retroactively as of 1 January 2022.
UK environment Scretary George Eustice argued the deal “provides a strong foundation as we seek to deliver more sustainable fisheries management.”
Minister Jože Podgoršek of Slovenia, which holds the EU presidency, said: “Thanks to goodwill and a constructive approach on both sides, we were able to reach an agreement that provides certainty for EU fishermen and women going forward.”
The agreement follows the UK and EU signing off on the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) late last year, which set out the terms for both parties to determine fishing rights in the Atlantic and North Sea.
After the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, fish stocks jointly managed by the EU and the UK are considered shared resources under international law.
Under the TCA, both parties agree to hold annual talks to determine TACs and quotas for the following year.
Talks take into account factors such as international obligations, the recommended maximum sustainable yield for each species, and scientific advice.
The decision is separate to the escalating row between France and Britain concerning licenses for French fishermen to operate off the U.K.’s crown dependencies of Jersey and Guernsey – which has included protests, threats to blockade ports and trawlers being impounded.
Fishing has always been a significant matter of contention in the Brexit debate and later UK-EU discussions, with perhaps the most colourful moment of the 2016 referendum campaign involving Nigel Farage on a fishing boat facing off with Bob Geldof on the River Thames by Westminser.