Making a keynote speech at the The City of Law School – University of London, PFA President Gerard van Balsfoort said that it will take time for the UK to find its place as a new coastal state – during which time Northeast Atlantic fisheries management is going to be turbulent.
Gerard van Balsfoort joined the meeting which was part of a workshop about Legal Challenges Faced by Coastal and Fishing Communities, Brexit, and the New British Fisheries Policy, aiming bring together leading fisheries experts from academia, industry, and policy to share their expertise, views and experience on the challenges and consequences that Brexit brought after the United Kingdom left the Common Fisheries Policy.
As president of the Pelagic Freezer Association, chair European Union Fisheries Alliance and vice-president Europêche, he has been closely involved in the Brexit process from the start – and asked a key question, flagged up as the title of his presentation: Why is (almost) everybody complaining?
He pointed out that with the notable exception of the Scottish pelagic operators, following Brexit virtually everyone in the EU and UK seafood industries has been complaining and found themselves in a rather dire situation.
He also noted that the UK as a new coastal state in the Northeast Atlantic has stirred up an already complex fisheries management system.
“We have seen one consequence of this already by the unilateral increase by Norway and the Faroe Islands of their respective mackerel shares with 55%,” he said, commenting that the UK government badly failed in its expectation management towards its own fishing industry which has led to overpromising and underdelivering. “This needs time to heal,” he said.
“The process by which the UK will find its place as a new coastal state among the other coastal states in the Northeast Atlantic will take time. During this time a turbulent situation in the Northeast Atlantic, when it comes to fisheries management, is to be expected.”
He pointed that the EU and the UK share numerous fish stocks that need joint, proper management and that would only be possible by accepting that both parties are heavily interlinked with many mutual dependencies.
“One is more dependent on access to the other party’s waters and the other more on access to the other party’s market. To be constructive, collaborative and reasonable is the only way forward to avoid a situation that fish stocks are badly managed,” he said and added that the EU has for the first time strongly and successfully played trade as a trump card during the negotiations on the Brexit fisheries agreement.
“As far as the EU fishing industry is concerned trade will be centrally placed in future fisheries negotiations from now on. In other words, access to the Single Market comes with a price,” Gerard van Balsfoort said.
