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Antsy Irish fishermen call for ‘hard Brexit’ clarity
The Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation (KFO) has called for a suite of mitigation measures for fisheries to be spelled out clearly by the Irish government in the event of a hard Brexit, something which it says hasn’t been presented in any detail anywhere thus far.
The producer organization appealed to the government to ensure the best interests of a sector "which sustains 14,500 jobs and is worth €1.15 billion to the Irish economy" are vigorously protected.
“It is high time that we had sight of a tangible plan which would chart the future direction of the Irish industry in the event of a hard Brexit," said KFO chief executive, Sean O’Donoghue.
"The importance of this is underlined by the fact that Ireland’s two biggest fisheries, mackerel (60%) and nephrops/prawns (40%) are massively dependent on access to UK waters with the overall percentage of stocks currently fished from UK waters by the Irish fleet standing at more than 30%. We cannot countenance a situation whereby this access might stop at 11 pm on March 29 next due to a hard Brexit. The events of this week notwithstanding, we believe a deal can still be reached in London."
Irish trawlers must obey boundaries and exclusion zones, unlike fish, he noted. "Our industry is standing on the edge of a precipice which is getting closer with every passing day and everything that we have strived for and developed for generations is staring into the abyss."
KFO has been encouraged by the first tranche of documents delivered by the negotiating teams and subsequently approved by the UK cabinet in December, but the lack of tangible progress since then is "most alarming", he said.
O’Donoghue noted there is still a majority in the UK parliament against a no-deal situation, adding it was imperative that such a scenario is avoided.
The European Fisheries alliance has this week also called upon the European Commission and member states to prepare all the necessary steps to mitigate the impact of such a situation on its fleets, communities and fisheries resources. It expressed hope that both sides are able and willing to turn their attention to developing and agreeing on a future and comprehensive bilateral fisheries and trade agreement on the basis of the agreement reached between EU and UK negotiators in November 2018.
The European Fisheries Alliance was established less than two months after the British vote to protect the interests of fleets from national organizations in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Sweden. The alliance accounts for over 18,000 fishermen and 3,500 vessels with an annual turnover €20.7bn.
Länk: https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2019/01/18/antsy-irish-fishermen-call-for-hard-brexit-clarity/