Brexit has been hailed across fishing communities as a “golden opportunity” to re-energise British fishermen thanks to the expiration of the controversial Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Brexiteer June Mummery, who has long been argued for Britain’s independence from the European Union’s regulation on fisheries, suggested coastal communities could benefit from an “immediate” boost thanks to a key law. Speaking to Express.co.uk, Ms Mummery said: “People often tell me, June, how are we going to rebuild this?’
“There is a law, actually, that says if we don’t catch the fish then other nations can. I get that.
“The first thing I would do, if I were at the negotiating table, is probably allow some EU vessels to fish, sustainably, but they have to land their catch in the UK.”
Ms Mummery argued the top-notch processing plants in coastal town could then be used by EU fishermen to have their catch prepared for sale rather than have the trawlers rely on national processors.
She continued: “We’ve still got the processing plants. I’ve been all around the country and the coastal communities have been starved.
“They are starved, they are deprived and they need regenerating fishing is a golden opportunity to get people back to work. The most deprived area, I probably would say, is Fleetwood.
“That really got me but one thing Fleetwood has is a lot of processing. The EU are fishing in our waters and taking our fish from our waters and we are buying it back.
“We would allow the EU, saying, you can come in our waters, sustainably, but you have to land your catch here’.”
Ms Mummery, a member of the Fisheries Committee in the European Parliament, also urged the Government into looking into helping fishermen with cash handouts to helpt them set-up operations.
2019 Express Newspapers.