The automatic right of EU vessels to fish in British waters will come to an end at the end of the transition period in December.
That is a legal guarantee contained in the Fisheries Bill, which is published today. It says foreign vessels will have to be licensed and follow rules set by the UK if they fish in British waters.
It will also make sure that any fishing will be at sustainable levels.
However, for a UK fishing industry hoping Brexit will herald a new golden age, there are fears the government will “sell them down the river” in the coming trade negotiations.
Fishing waters and quotas – who gets what – are likely to feature early in the talks, which aim to pull together, over the next 12 months, a comprehensive trade deal on the UK’s future relationship with the EU.
The apprehension of the industry is intense because it believes it was used as a bargaining chip when Britain originally joined the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973.
Under that arrangement, access to UK waters was divvied up with other members.
Quotas soon became fixed annually through the common fisheries policy (CFP).
On the high seas of the English Channel, the CFP and all it represents is hated by British fishermen – it’s why the industry voted overwhelmingly in favour of Leave.
Dave Driver, a veteran of the industry and skipper of the trawler Girl Debra, told Sky News Brexit must be about correcting what he says is an historic injustice.
“Hopefully it’s a big change for the industry; a lot of fishermen are hoping it’s going to be a big change,” he said.
“We’ve been sold down the river 40 years ago by [Edward] Heath so we just want a bit of what is ours back.”
But he is under no illusions that the negotiations will be plain sailing.
He added: “We think we were dealt a raw deal, obviously. We think we should have more quota – not for the French and the Belgians, they have got a lot more quota than we’ve got.
“Yes, they’ve got a bigger fishing fleet, but it is in our waters. And if we can get the six miles extended to the 12, smaller boats like this should prosper.”
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