[ad_1]
Negotiators are currently in a race against time to secure a Brexit deal due to the red lines, even though more than 600 pages have already been agreed. It seems increasingly likely that fishing, as well as a level playing field and governance, could ruin an entire deal.
But the fishermen have argued that most of the details could be approved now, allowing negotiators to focus entirely on a fair fishing deal.
During a test session in Holyrood, the executive director of the Scottish Federation of Fishermen said the situation was “very unbalanced in favor of the EU”.
Elspeth Macdonald said: “The European Union has made an artificial link between fishing opportunities and market access, because it is very concerned about the loss of access to UK waters, and that is the leverage it wants to apply.
“It is unprecedented to link fisheries agreements with trade agreements; no other arrangement works like this. “
Macdonald said tying a trade deal and a fisheries deal together should be “strongly resisted”.
She said: “The international norm for fishing agreements is that they are independent agreements about access to waters and fishing opportunities from the other parties.
“That is very much what we are looking for. As I said, there is no precedent for a link to trade and we believe that strong resistance needs to be put up.
“It is also important to think about the trade balance for seafood.
READ MORE: Boris plans a new push to crush SNP and save the Union from the indy
Ms MacDonald said: “First, the UK must control access to its fishing waters – its exclusive economic zone – which, again, is what sets the default legal position.
“Secondly, we must have a fairer share of the resources in our waters because, at the moment, the situation is very unbalanced in favor of the EU fishing fleet and against the UK fleet.
“Third, there must be annual negotiations on fisheries between the EU and the UK.”
He added: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to repair a very unfair agreement for fisheries under the Common Fisheries Policy and revitalize the Scottish fishing industry and the communities in which it is located.”
And he pointed to the agreements signed with Norway and Iceland as proof that the EU could afford to be flexible in securing a deal.
She said: “The Norwegian fleet catches more than 80 percent of all the fish caught in Norwegian waters.
“Norway has a fisheries agreement with the EU, which includes annual negotiations on access and exchange of fishing opportunities.
“Norway is a good comparator.”
Ms McDonald noted that the current position under the EU Common Fisheries Policy considers that UK vessels catch only “30 to 40 percent” of all fish caught in UK waters.
He said this was the “situation we seek to correct.”
[ad_2]
