The Government is reported to be close to a major trade deal with the EU which would bolster the UK\u2019s defence industry \u2013 in return for greater European access to British fishing.<\/a><\/p>\n Mike Cohen, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen\u2019s Organisations, (NFFO) said fishing \u201cbecame a political football during the Brexit negotiations.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIf a deal is done and fishing doesn\u2019t benefit from this, then people will be furious,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is all absolutely still to play for. The Government is telling us they are determined to do good deal for us. If they don\u2019t, then we will have been let down very, very badly.\u201d<\/p>\n Elspeth Macdonald, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen\u2019s Federation, said it would be \u201cludicrous\u201d for the UK to \u201ccave in to French demands for a multi-year fisheries deal<\/a> with fixed quotas, sacrificing part of the UK\u2019s national food security for the production of bombs and bullets.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe patiently set out our position directly to ministers, but it would appear they have chosen to ignore our views and Sir Keir Starmer looks set to become the third Prime Minister to sell out the fishing industry after Edward Heath in 1973 and Boris Johnson in 2020,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Heath was accused of trading fishing waters for access to the European Common Market, while Johnson\u2019s 2020 Brexit deal agreed that just 25 per cent of the value of fish caught in UK waters would be returned to British fishermen, to the anger of industry leaders.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know the public is very supportive of our industry here in Scotland\u2026 and this craven capitulation will be deeply unpopular right across the country but particularly in our coastal and island communities which depend on the sea for their jobs and future prospects,\u201d Macdonald added.<\/p>\n \nWhat is the new EU-UK deal \u2013 and how does it affect fisheries?<\/p>\n The exact terms of the fishing agreement are not clear, and industry insiders told The i Paper the deal was still being thrashed out.<\/p>\n One trade source said \u201cthere is no link between fish and defence and it would be wrong to suggest otherwise\u201d and that an agreement would cover a \u201crange of issues\u201d.<\/p>\n However, reports indicate that defence industries will boom under the deal, while British fisheries may be forced to concede long-term access to Europe for little gain.<\/p>\n Under the deal, British firms will reportedly be allowed to bid for the new \u20ac150bn (\u00a3129bn) EU defence fund after negotiators made \u201csignificant concessions\u201d to Brussels on fishing rights.<\/p>\n British companies such as BAE Systems and Babcock were\u00a0originally excluded from the fund while other non-EU countries such as Norway, South Korea and Japan were included, because the UK doesn\u2019t have a defence and security pact with the EU.<\/p>\n Reports indicate that British negotiators will grant the EU a long term deal on fish access.<\/p>\n It would also freeze fishing quotas at their current level rather than reduce them further, reports say, after the Brexit deal reduced the quota European fishermen could access British waters by 25 per cent.<\/p>\n The 2020 post-Brexit deal gave European vessels the ability to fish in UK waters up to six miles from the shore. The deal was fixed for five years, and after that would be renegotiated each year.<\/p>\n While it also granted British vessels the same access in Europe, \u201cwe don\u2019t really use that as much, because the biggest fishing grounds are in UK waters,\u201d Cohen said.<\/p>\n Europe has long been wanting to secure this access for longer, not least because France in particular is heavily dependent on UK waters and wanted stability rather than yearly changes.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n New deal \u2018must bring benefits for fishing\u2019<\/p>\n UK industry sources said EU marine officials had been adamant during talks before Christmas that they wanted \u201cpermanent access to UK waters, that they weren\u2019t going to have to give anything for this, and there will be trade consequences for the UK if they didn\u2019t get it.\u201d<\/p>\n Cohen said the recent talks could be seen as a climbdown by the EU, as they now appear to be negotiating access for a fixed period of time, rather than a demanding permanent access.<\/p>\n \u201cIf in return for that, the fishing industry gets something positive, then that\u2019s something we\u2019d be interested to hear more about.\u201d<\/p>\n But any further concessions to European fishermen without benefits to British businesses would be \u201cselling the industry down the river\u201d, said Mike Park, chief executive of the Scottish White Fish Producers Association.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all understand the situation with the macro defense and security issues, but it is ludicrous that\u2026 fish and fishing is being drawn into the debate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf there is a long term deal to be done with the EU, we\u2019re not against that, so long as it gives the UK fishing industry more opportunities. But if the discussions are where we give the EU long-term security, but we get nothing else in return, that is just selling the industry down the river.\u201d<\/p>\n For secure and long term access to British waters, Park would want to see greater shares of saithe and cod fished in UK waters going to British fishermen. However, he is not optimistic.<\/p>\n \u201cIt seems that there\u2019s bigger deals at play and the fishing industry is just something else that can be thrown in there to smooth the waters.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Wrong\u2019 to compare fishing and defence<\/p>\n While the defence industry is worth \u00a314.5bn a year in exports compared to \u00a31.7bn in fish sales, fishing leaders pointed out that scores of coastal communities are sustained by fishing and that it bolsters the UK\u2019s food security.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are lots of people saying that defence is worth however many billion, and fishing is tiny next to that. But it\u2019s not the same thing. We\u2019re not talking about a handful of really big businesses with huge foreign shareholders. We\u2019re talking about a lot of small local businesses that are often the main source of employment in a small community,\u201d said Cohen.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you take them away, you mean that people can\u2019t pay their rent anymore, pay their bills. They\u2019re not going to be able to stay living in these places, keeping local shops up. The knock on effects of taking out a core economic activity from a community that\u2019s been left by the wayside is quite important.\u201d<\/p>\n The value of the fishing industry is frequently \u201cdiminished by just looking at the first sale value of fish \u2013 what\u2019s paid on the quay side,\u201d Cohen said.<\/p>\n Nick Howell, the commissioner of Newlyn Harbour in Cornwall, said that catches at his harbour would generate around \u00a340m this year \u2013 70 per cent of the value of all fish landed in Cornwall.<\/p>\n But that when accounting for the subsequent effect of work for \u201cprocessors, engineers, boat owners\u201d, research from local fishing bodies found that the overall contribution from the Cornish fishing industry was closer to \u00a3174m.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re all very cynical about [the negotiations], because they don\u2019t care,\u201d he said. \u201cWe haven\u2019t even had the chance to have a voice in this.\u201d<\/p>\n A Government spokesperson said: \u201cThe upcoming UK-EU Summit will cover a range of issues as we look to build a stable and positive relationship that aligns with our national interest.<\/p>\n \u201cNo agreements have been reached and we have always been clear we will protect the interests of our fisheries.<\/p>\n \u201cThe UK has long been a leader in the defence and security of the Continent and we stand ready to negotiate a Security and Defence Partnership Agreement with the EU.\u201d<\/p>\n \nFishing \u2018sold a pack of lies\u2019 on Brexit<\/p>\n Should the deal fail to bring benefits for British fishing, it will spell another blow for an industry which was promised a renewal under Brexit that has so far failed to materialise.<\/p>\n![\"Britain's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/SEI_80971692-1.jpg\")
The former prime minister Boris Johnson looks on from aboard the Opportunis IV fishing trawler during a visit to Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, in 2019 (Photo: Duncan McGlynn \/AFP)<\/p>\n![\"Feature](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/SEI_210803034.jpg\")
Peterhead, Aberdeenshire is home to the largest fishing port in Europe. (Photo: Paul Reid\/ The i Paper)<\/p>\n![\"Feature](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/SEI_210802778.jpg\")
Mike Park, head of Scottish White Fish Producers Association pictured at Fraserburgh harbour (Photo: Paul Reid\/The i Paper)<\/p>\n
![\"Feature](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/SEI_210802661.jpg\")
James Stephen feels betrayed by the post-Brexit handling of the fishing industry (Photo: Paul Reid\/ The i Paper)<\/p>\n