We are nearing the end-game in the final Brexit talks - and fishing is the key issue:
EU vows 'final push' in UK trade talks but fish rift threatens deal | Reuters
Rifts over fishing narrow in EU-UK talks
The fishing community voted overwhelmingly to leave:
Futures Forum: Brexit: and Fishing for Leave
It's always been an emotional issue:
Brexit: The UK and EU both need to put aside emotion and cut a deal
But it's not just a question of catching fish - but also selling them.
And the problem is that the British prefer steak to shellfish, and this has been known for some time - as reported back in August 2018:
The problem is complicated by the fact that much of what these men catch is exported back to Europe. From the 90 lobster pots and 300 whelk pots that Harvey has laboriously hauled to the surface that morning, some of the catch will get to London but the rest is either too expensive or out of step with local taste to find a British market.
“I don’t eat them,” admits his brother Chris as they pick over a bucket of whelks, which are said to taste of rubber if you don’t cook them right. With lobsters fetching a tenner each on the quayside and up to £50-£60 by the time they reach London restaurants, Chris says he prefers a steak if he wants to treat the family.
This makes walking away from the EU without a deal for ongoing access to its consumer markets another worry for what is left of the British industry.
Some would still like to see UK fishing cut loose regardless. A rebalancing of British consumer tastes away from imported white fish and toward shellfish and other locally-caught produce could yet see this cottage industry grow into an artisanal success story.
'We have been hijacked': fishermen feel used over Brexit | Politics | The Guardian
Futures Forum: Brexit: and exporting shellfish from Brixham
Most fish caught in British waters is sold to the EU - and this was pointed out back in 2016, soon after the referendum and years before the current 'last minute' talks on fish:
EU trade is 'key' to success of UK fish industry as 75% of home-caught fish is exported - and majority of fish eaten by Britons is imported
Britons will have to eat more home-caught mackerels and fewer imported prawns if the Government fails to agree a favourable trade deal for the fishing industry with the EU following Brexit.
A parliamentary report published today has found that some 75 per cent of fish caught in the UK is exported, mostly to the European Union, while the majority of fish eaten in the UK is imported.
For this reason, it argued that trade agreements with the EU ‘will be a key factor to the future success of the UK fishing industry and fish processors’.EU trade 'key' to success of UK fish industry as 75% of home-caught fish is exported | This is Money
Brixham also exports most of its fish to the EU:
Brixham is England’s top fishing harbour by value of catch landed. The port has almost doubled the value of landings, from £22million three years ago to £40million in 2017 – mostly on the back of a booming cuttlefish fishery.
About 90% of the cuttlefish is exported to EU countries.
Mr Marsden is vice chair of the Devon and Severn Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority and a board member of the Marine Conservation Society.“What happens if we ‘fall off a cliff’ and don’t get a trade deal?” he said. “This market thrives as the moment because it’s able to move fast and transport the fish within hours from here to the end destination. If that can’t happen, it would be very serious for Brixham.”
But Jim Portus, chief executive of the South Western Fish Producers Organisation, said: “I believe we’ll end up with a deal with our European colleagues because they also want frictionless trade into the UK.
Brexit could leave fish rotting on the quayside - Devon Live
Brixham is England's most valuable fishing port - Devon Live
And all other UK shell-fish ports also need the EU markets - as with this piece from the weekend:
Shell shocked: 'Lobster capital' braces for Brexit - BBC News
Finally, deal or no deal, 'British' fishing communities won't win:
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