'Abject betrayal of Brexit' Ukip MEP launches petition to free British fishing from EU law
A BRITISH MEP has today launched a petition calling on the Government to immediately free British fishermen from the EU’s “disastrous” common quota policy.
Ukip’s Mike Hookem said the inclusion of fishing in the Great Repeal Bill, meaning European regulations will be written onto the UK’s statute books, represented an “abject betrayal of Brexit”.
Ministers have confirmed the bloc’s controversial quota system, the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), will be copied in its entirety for a transitional period as part of the exit process.
The Government insists that Britain will “become an independent coastal state on the day we leave the European Union” but says Brussels red tape needs to be phased out gradually.
It has drawn up a Great Repeal Bill which will transpose all EU law onto the British statute books, with MPs then set to go through each individual piece and decide what should be kept, amended or binned.
Environment minister George Eustice revealed Britain will leave the CFP in March 2019 but will directly replicate the terms of the programme to “provide continuity on the day we leave”.
But Mr Hookem, who previously described the announcement as the fishing industry’s “worst nightmare”, said hard-pressed trawler men cannot wait for years to be freed from EU policies.
Launching his petition, he said: “Throughout the referendum, the fishing community of Great Britain was one of the loudest voices in the Leave camp, as they have seen first-hand how disastrous EU policy can be to our country.
“I for one will support our fishing communities all the way, as I believe, post-Brexit we can achieve the £6.3 Billion boost to the UK economy that the fishing industry is estimated to be worth.”
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This Brexit betrayal must not be allowed to happen
The Ukip MEP, whose Yorkshire and the Humber constituency includes Grimsby, said that a revitalised fishing industry would bring “skilled jobs and a huge boost to the national economy”.
And he warned: “This Brexit betrayal must not be allowed to happen, and I urge the whole country to get behind our fishing communities and sign my petition.”
Theresa May has pledged to pursue a two-year transitional period “on current terms” and the EU is likely to insist the UK does remain within its fishing policy during that period.
And some EU countries, including Germany and France, are already making noises about demanding permanent access for their vessels to British waters as part of any future trade deal.
The CFP, which allows EU vessels access to UK fishing grounds and imposes strict quotas, is despised by many British trawler men who blame it for decimating what was once a national industry.
After Brexit, the UK will be entitled under international law to lay claim to an EEZ up to 200 miles from its coast, within which the British Government will police how fishing operates.
British companies currently export 80 per cent of the catches they land in UK waters - mostly to other EU states - whilst most of the fish bought by UK consumers is imported from European firms.
Ministers have flip-flopped on the issue of whether or not foreign vessels will be able to access British waters after Brexit, with the outcome likely to be tied to a future UK-EU trade deal.