European fishermen furious as Britain ‘breaks Brexit deal’ to block them | UK | News
European fishermen furious as Britain ‘breaks Brexit deal’ to block them | UK | News
The EU is facing pressure from Denmark and Sweden to take action against the UK in the latest dispute over fishing post-Brexit.
The UK has banned catching sand eels on Dogger Bank in the North Sea – a move which could lead Denmark’s fishing industry facing a potential annual loss of €18million (£15.4million). The sand eel is crucial for the economies of both Denmark and Sweden for their uses in pig feed and fish oil.
Discussions over how the EU should respond have even included imposing tariffs on UK exports if the dispute escalates to a breach of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Other coastal states are also understood to have backed the demand by Copenhagen for the EU to stand up to London.
Danish foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told his EU counterparts at a meeting that they had to “take a common stand to avoid a de facto erosion of fishing rights”.
He added that he wants the European Commission to analyse the legality of whether London has broken the terms of the trade deal.
It will require a majority of the 27 member states to agree to enact a response to the UK.
The closure was announced this January, and is set to take effect from later next month.
Svend-Erik Andersen, chair of the Danish Fishermen’s Association, said in a statement: “This is a humiliation for the EU. With the Brexit agreement, Danish fishermen paid dearly for access to British waters. Now, the UK is breaking the agreement. It is beyond criticism.”
The UK has agreed to continue to give EU fleets access to its water. However, it is allowed to take conservation measures – as long as they don’t discriminate against anyone’s fleets.
However Denmark argues the ban on sand eels is effectively discrimination, as its ships take 99 percent of the creatures caught.
The plans to curb fishing on Dogger Bank were originally proposed in February 2021, with the area making up one of four special areas of conservation that needed protection.
The UK Government has stated the decision was reached to protect sand eels – an important food source for marine birds and porpoises.
The Blue Marine Foundation, ClientEarth, the Marine Conservation Society and the WWF have said decades of industrial bottom-trawling were the “probable cause” of a decline in fish stocks on Dogger Bank.
Cet article est apparu en premier en ANGLAIS sur https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1870232/europe-fishermen-brexit-eu-britain