such as the security and defence pact<\/a> Starmer wants to sign at the May summit, and a deal on cross-border food trade.<\/p>\nMr Reland said after the court ruling: \u201cIt doesn\u2019t sound like they [the UK] will overturn the ban, but it might mean conceding some ground. That could mean allowing limited catch of sand eels or tying it into the wider negotiation on fishing rights.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt sounds like there is quite a lot of horse-trading to be done, and the timing is quite convenient [ahead of the UK-EU summit].\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Important victory for the UK\u2019<\/p>\n
The Conservative Environment Network (CEN) urged the Government not to make concessions on the ban as part of Brexit reset negotiations.<\/p>\n
John Flesher, deputy director of CEN, said: \u201cThis is a great Brexit win for the UK and vindicates the last Conservative Government\u2019s efforts to protect our seas and the marine life they hold. Banning sand-eel fishing was never about penalising the EU; it was about supporting our threatened native species like puffins.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is excellent news that the tribunal has recognised this.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis win for nature would not have been possible if the UK were a member of the European Union, and Brexit has the potential to do so much more good for our environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
CEN MP Andrew Griffith, Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade, said: \u201cThis is an important victory for the UK and protects our right to decide what is best for British waters and our native species.\u201d<\/p>\n
A UK Government spokesman said: \u201cThe ruling does not mean the UK is legally obliged to reverse the closure of English waters, and the decision to close Scottish waters was fully upheld.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe remain committed to protecting our seabirds and the wider marine environment in accordance with our commitments to the TCA and other international agreements.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue to act in the national interest as we work towards a strong and lasting partnership with our European neighbours.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Permanent Court of Arbitration, based\u00a0in The Hague in the Netherlands, is a intergovernmental organisation with 124 members. It facilitates dispute resolution between states.<\/p>\n
A lifeline for puffins<\/p>\n
Anne McCall, director of RSPB Scotland, said: \u201cToday\u2019s decision is a significant step for Scotland\u2019s globally important seabirds. With more than 70 per cent of Scottish seabird populations in decline it\u2019s vital we do everything we can to bring about their recovery.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sand-eel fishery closure in Scottish waters represents a major lifeline for many species, including our much-loved puffins and kittiwakes.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlentiful food is a key part of supporting seabird recovery, as is making sure there are safe places for seabirds to breed and rear their young and preventing unnecessary adult mortality.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Court rules Britain does not have to reverse its ban on sand-eel fishing which protects puffins The UK…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":70921,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5226],"tags":[30572,802,748,3928,2000,299,5187,1699,6481,4884,729,3027,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-70920","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brexit","8":"tag-birds","9":"tag-brexit","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-conservation","12":"tag-eu","13":"tag-europe","14":"tag-european","15":"tag-european-union","16":"tag-fishing","17":"tag-great-britain","18":"tag-nature","19":"tag-politics-news","20":"tag-uk","21":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114443460545443659","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70920","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=70920"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70920\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=70920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=70920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=70920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SEI_249679746.jpg\")
Puffins are\u00a0most commonly seen in the UK along the coasts of Scotland, northern England, south-west England, and Wales, especially on islands and cliffs (Photo: Andy Buchanan\/AFP)<\/p>\n