UK: Fishing industry needs a radical change in government thinking

Published Feb 15, 2024

Tridge summary

The UK's distant waters fishing industry, particularly in the north-east of England, is suffering due to the government's handling of fishing quotas post-Brexit, according to Jane Sandell, CEO of UK Fisheries. The industry has seen a decrease in the UK's share of fish served domestically, increased reliance on imports, and job losses. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has been criticised for favouring a small number of Scottish vessels in quota negotiations, leading to an imbalance in fishing opportunities. In 2022, the value of imported fish was five times that of domestic landings, with a 16% rise in import values to £3.64bn. The industry is calling for a change in government approach to secure its future.

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Original content

Fishing industry needs radical change of government thinking. An article by Jane Sandell, CEO, UK Fisheries. In what will (almost) certainly be the election year of 2024, we at UK Fisheries have now to invest our hopes in a change of government if there is to be any possibility of a thriving distant waters fishing industry in the north-east of England. This is not because we’re a political organisation – we are not. It is because, despite four years of patiently making our case to a succession of Conservative Fisheries Ministers, we still have significantly less than half of the whitefish quota that we were able to fish in our traditional grounds prior to Brexit. In a time of increased focus on food security in the UK this is absolutely absurd. Until 2020, our distant waters trawlers, including Kirkella, used to catch roughly one in twelve of the portions of fish served in chippies up and down the country. We were, in fact, the only UK operator fishing for cod and haddock in the ...

Source: Fish Focus