This Bill is not only important for the UK fishing industry, it is also a statement of the repatriation of sovereign powers to the UK.
We regain total control over our territorial waters. I speak for Hastings and Rye fishermen (and many others around the UK) when I say that the area within the UK’s 12 mile limit should be an exclusive zone in which fishing and access rights should be limited to UK fishing vessels only.
This will ensure a better basis for future management of inshore fisheries – fundamentally important for Hastings and Rye fishing communities which will benefit from thousands of tonnes of fish worth millions of pounds currently fished by other EU nations.
Although we have withdrawn from the London Fisheries Convention, Clause 12 of this Bill does not make clear the 12 mile exclusive zone within the British fishery limits; it provides that foreign boats will be required to be licensed to fish in UK waters.
I stand up for Hastings and Rye fishermen who state that to issue licences to foreign vessels within 12 miles of our shores would be a ‘sell out; the 12 miles limit is sacrosanct’.
The sustainable practices of small-scale fisheries of mainly under 10 metre boats cannot be marginalized or undervalued. Small boats, by their very nature, have less impact to the marine ecosystem than large boats which often wreak considerable damage. Fishing must be about sustainability, but we cannot ignore the social and economic welfare that our local fisheries bring to local communities, fostering a sense of pride and encouraging tourism and hospitality businesses, for example.
We must have a system which retains youth and supports family-based fishing enterprises in our coastal communities. This is especially important when considering quotas; quota fairness is fundamental in fisheries management – equitable opportunity for people who actually fish.
Systems, such as remote electronic monitoring, which help conserve and monitor fish stocks and catches are essential. Global trials of electronic monitoring show that there is no doubt that it would incentivise better compliance and reduce discarding activity but is unpopular amongst fishermen, who have concerns on privacy, liability and cost. The costs to small scale boats would be disproportional and fishing boats are living spaces as well as workplaces.
Participation in electronic monitoring should be encouraged in large boats as a way of increasing public trust, more sustainable fishing and monitoring of stock, rather than just compliance and we must not have a system where British boats use electronic monitoring, but foreign vessels do not.
Fisheries management is challenging – needing to balance fishing capacity with sustainable fishing. This Bill promotes co-management of fisheries and any electronic monitoring should be a constructive process based upon the management of fisheries and addressing existing complexities.
The British fishing industry has made clear its commitment to sustainable fishing post Brexit. It is our duty to ensure they have our support.