The European Union and the United Kingdom agree on how much fish they can manage together this year. This creates clarity for their fishermen who have to work with temporary catch limits for the first few months of January.
Fish supply is one of the most difficult issues in the Brexit negotiations. With the Brexit deal, there is not enough time to acknowledge how many individual, lobster, turbo and other fish can be caught in 2021. So both parties have set up temporary fishing opportunities.
The European Commission says there is now one more agreement on ’75 shared fish species in 2021 and some deep-sea species for 2021 and 2022 ‘.
“It demonstrates that partners on both sides of the channel can reach agreements and move forward if they work together,” said Virginius Sincavius, the European Commissioner in charge. From this year onwards, London and Brussels had to make new agreements each year on the supply of fish.
In March, the United Kingdom, the European Union and Norway already agreed on the supply of North Sea fish they manage together.
Crevits satisfaction
Flemish Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Hilde Grevitz (CD & V) is pleased that Europe and the United Kingdom have now reached an agreement on fisheries. “This agreement will be the basis for future annual negotiations. Negotiations have taken a long time and the sector has been living in a state of uncertainty,” the minister said.
According to Krevitz, all annual catches for the Flemish fishing fleet depend on fish stocks that have now been reached, with the exception of fishing in the Bay of Biscay and the Norwegian region. Strictly speaking, it is about the same, blaze, monfish, squid and scallops. The sector now knows how many fish can be caught under sustainable management until the end of 2021. Fishermen can plan their activities so they can deliver fresh fish throughout the year. Now that the agreement has been reached, member states can exchange fish stocks with the UK through the European Commission. At the same time. ‘Grevitz will review the deal in detail in the coming days.