Fish have been served up among the main bones of contention between the United Kingdom government and the European Union.
The negotiating mandate published on Thursday at Westminster is a long way from the vision for a future relationship for managing wild fish stocks in the European Commission’s proposals.
That comes as no surprise to those who have seen the pre-negotiation posturing – from the rhetoric of the 2016 Brexit campaign, to the priorities set out by Brussels along with the Withdrawal Agreement.
The industry does not matter nearly as much as car manufacturing or finance. In employment terms, traditional fishing represents less than 1% of the UK economy, and little more than that in Scotland.
However, it is of totemic importance to coastal communities and to the governments that represent them. Brexiteers played on dislike of the Common Fisheries Policy, making claims of the harm it did since 1973.
In negotiations to join, one telling Whitehall internal discussion saw fisheries described as “expendable” alongside other priorities. That treatment has been a powerful way of boosting hostility to the EU from Shetland and north-east Scotland to Cornwall.
However, other parts of the fishing industry are concerned that their access to European markets will suffer in the looming negotiations, including creel fishing and food processing.
On Wednesday in the Scottish Parliament, Fergus Ewing, the cabinet secretary responsible for fisheries (and much else besides), set out means of getting the inshore fleet to get along better, resolving disputes over gear and putting less plastic in the water. He also set out how significant that sector is:
80% of Scotland’s 2,000 registered fishing vessels operate in inshore waters
Of those 1,600 boats, most are micro-businesses going after prawns, langoustine, lobster and scallops
Much of the catch is heading for export markets in France, Spain and Italy: in 2018, £100m-worth of langoustines were exported from the UK
Two-thirds of the world’s langoustines are sourced in Scotland, he said, mostly destined for France, Spain and Italy
Much of that catch is trucked, fresh or even live, to continental markets. The sector fears health certificates will be required, adding to delay and cost. And trucks could be stuck in bottlenecks at Channel ports, each one with diminishing value to its cargo as it does so.
Meanwhile, Spain, France and the continuing EU members around the North Sea have ensured the industry has a special status in the EU negotiating mandate. Even though many other countries have no coast let alone a fishing fleet, they have signed up to this.
So this week, the two sides crystallised their positions. On Tuesday, Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, put fisheries in the context of the free trade deal he wants to secure.
The mandate emphasises the scarcity of fish and the need to manage stocks responsibly, and the sharing of data and research. On that, there’s no disagreement – though both sides saying they’ll look to scientific advice overlooks the track record of the Common Fisheries Policy. It routinely bends its way round that advice for reasons of political expediency and governments rarely complain about that.
2020 BBC