Re: Flexible extension???

Phase Two is coming.

Vote for the Brexit Party. If a majority did so, most of our incompetent politicians would be out on their ears.

Unfortunately, we have the 'turnip wearing a red/blue rosette' factor.

Re: Flexible extension???

Funny, isn't it?

France benefits far more than we do from the CAP, but of course they have much more farmland than us.

We, being an island, have far more fishery areas (or ought to) than them. Where are the handouts to subsidise our fishing industry, then?

No. On the contrary, we have had to hand over much or our fishing areas to other EU countries.

Why don't the Frogs have to hand over much of their farmland to us?

Re: Flexible extension???

Hi

Some unfortunate facts about our Fisheries.

When the Quota system came into force, France, Holland, Belgium etc counted every single fishing boat they had, we did not, we took a decision not to count our small inshore boats, of which we had many, towards the total.

Hence we lost out.

Then we did something that no other EU Country did.

We sold off our quotas, in the same way we sold of lots of other things.

Even if we leave the EU those quotas we sold will have to be bought back.

Now, how stupid is that?

Even if we do take back control of our fisheries, and I do not trust our Government at all, we will still be importing most of our seafood.

We are very traditional in our eating habits, cod and haddock.

Most of the fish we catch are not the types we eat a lot of, they go to the Continent.

Re: Flexible extension???

Sold off our quotas did we ?

Re: Flexible extension???

We had to burn our fishing boats when Spain joined the EU in order to claim compensation. That money didn't come from the EU though ... it came from the UK tax payer.

Re: Flexible extension???

Hi

Yes we did.

https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/press-...hing-industry/

Note the facts.

England (the UK’s second-largest fishing nation, with 24% of all quota):

In England, around half (49%) of fishing quota is held by Dutch, Icelandic and Spanish companies, with a further 30% owned by English and Scottish Rich List families.
More than half (53%) of England’s fishing quota is in the hands of just three companies.

There is no requirement to sell quotas to Foreign Owned Companies.

We did this all on our own.

Re: Flexible extension???

Oh no ... don't we have any quotas anymore ?

Re: Flexible extension???

From a commons library briefing march 5 2019:

The House of Lords Committee on the European Union 2016 report, Brexit: Fisheries, set out some of the potential concerns and priorities for fisheries going into the Brexit negotiation The report recognised that whilst the fishing industry represents “a very small part of the UK’s GDP” it is of great importance to many coastal communities and that
opportunities exist for the UK in leaving the CFP. It also noted that the majority of fish caught in the UK are exported to the EU and that the UK currently imports most of the fish it consumes.

The report highlighted concerns about the potential impact on the fishing industry of a lack of agreement during the Brexit negotiations on access, quotas and trade. The conclusions on access and quota included the following:
20. Unilateral restriction on access to fishing in the UK EEZ would almost certainly lead to reciprocal restrictions being placed on UK vessels fishing in the EU EEZ. This would also have a profound effect both on the fishing industry in the EU and on the UK fleet
that relies on fishing outside the UK EEZ. Some form of mutual access arrangements must therefore be negotiated.
21. The historic reluctance of Member States to renegotiate the relative stability key suggests that negotiating new quota allocations after Brexit will be difficult. Such difficulty will be accentuated if these negotiations overlap with the wider negotiations on EU withdrawal. The Government could use access to fishing within the UK EEZ as a
lever for achieving a better allocation of quotas but must also bear in mind that co-operation will be crucial for the long-term sustainability of stocks.
22. As an independent coastal state the UK will in principle be able to ‘walk away’ from negotiations with other coastal states if the compromises reached on TACs or quota shares are not aligned to UK interests. Walking away would, by leading to unilateral management of shared stocks, risk undermining the sustainability of fish stocks. It would also invite retaliation in other areas, including trade. Consequently, walking away should be a last resort.

And on fisheries and trade:
23. Trade in fish and seafood is essential to the wider seafood industry, which relies heavily on importing raw goods at reduced or zero tariffs for domestic consumption, and on exporting domestic catches and production. Any disruptions to the current trading patterns could have profound effects on both the catching and processing sectors.
24. Trade with the EU in fish products will be a key factor to the future success of the UK fishing industry and fish processors. We therefore urge that the fish sector should be included in the Government’s consideration of priorities for a future trading relationship with the EU.

Re: Flexible extension???

That's not answering what I asked

Re: Flexible extension???

Let's put it this way. You have quota to catch fish species the brits don't eat. You export them to the EU.
You sold the quota of species you consume. These fish you have to import.

British logic, or what?