Brexit will ‘allow British fishermen to TAKE BACK their waters’, says fisheries minister

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Fisheries Minister George Eustice says British fishermen should get a “good deal” out of Brexit

Tory politician Mr Eustice, who is negotiating a deal in Brussels for the UK’s fishing industry, said Brexit will enable Britain to gain control of its waters, which are currently subject to “common grazing” rights that enable EU fishermen to plunder British waters.

Brexit will give the UK an opportunity to overhaul the “unfair” fishing quotas limiting the catch of British fishermen, Mr Eustice said.

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It’s pretty clear that Brexit can be a good deal for British fishermen because we regain control

George Eustice

He claimed once caps are lifted, British fishermen will to gain a greater market share of fish in Channel such as Dover sole, cod and haddock, which are currently being shared with fishermen from France.

Mr Eustice said: “It’s pretty clear that Brexit can be a good deal for British fishermen because we regain control. The equation is that they have 1million tonnes of UK fish and we get about 150,000 tonnes of fish of various species.

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British fishermen may be able to gain a greater market share of key produce thanks to Brexit

He added: “There are areas we would hope to get a better deal, particularly with cod and plaice. The truth is that things will change in a very fundamental way. In the Channel the French get twice as much plaice and three times as much Dover sole as we do, there is an imbalance.”

Mr Eustice claimed Britain’s current fishing deal within the EU is unfavourable for UK fishermen, as their EU counterparts “benefit more from access to the UK than the UK benefits from access to them”.

He insisted Britain’s share of plaice and sole in the Channel is “incredibly low” and that there is a similar situation for haddock and cod in the Celtic sea.

But despite the opportunity Brexit provides for a better deal, Mr Eustice said that Brussels negotiations have ground to a halt due to the “institutionalised inertia” of EU fat cats.

A report on the EU fishing industry, published earlier this month, found that from 2012 to 2014 fishing boats from other EU countries caught 58 per cent of the fish and shellfish landed from the UK’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

The NAFC Marine Centre UHI report said that this equates to about 650,000 tonnes of fish and shellfish, worth more than £400million each year.

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British fishermen look set to benefit from Brexit

In contrast, UK fishing boats fishing elsewhere in EU waters, landed on average 90,000 tonnes of fish and shellfish, worth about £100million.