European fishermen livid as Britain ‘breaks Brexit deal’ to dam them | UK | News | EUROtoday

The EU is dealing with strain from Denmark and Sweden to take motion in opposition to the UK within the newest dispute over fishing post-Brexit.

The UK has banned catching sand eels on Dogger Bank within the North Sea – a transfer which may lead Denmark’s fishing trade dealing with a possible annual lack of €18million (£15.4million). The sand eel is essential for the economies of each Denmark and Sweden for his or her makes use of in pig feed and fish oil.

Discussions over how the EU ought to reply have even included imposing tariffs on UK exports if the dispute escalates to a breach of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Other coastal states are additionally understood to have backed the demand by Copenhagen for the EU to face as much as London.

Danish overseas minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen instructed his EU counterparts at a gathering that they needed to “take a common stand to avoid a de facto erosion of fishing rights”.

He added that he desires the European Commission to analyse the legality of whether or not London has damaged the phrases of the commerce deal.

It would require a majority of the 27 member states to comply with enact a response to the UK.

The closure was introduced this January, and is about to take impact from later subsequent month.

Svend-Erik Andersen, chair of the Danish Fishermen’s Association, stated in a press release: “This is a humiliation for the EU. With the Brexit agreement, Danish fishermen paid dearly for access to British waters. Now, the UK is breaking the agreement. It is beyond criticism.”

The UK has agreed to proceed to present EU fleets entry to its water. However, it’s allowed to take conservation measures – so long as they don’t discriminate in opposition to anybody’s fleets.

However Denmark argues the ban on sand eels is successfully discrimination, as its ships take 99 % of the creatures caught.

The plans to curb fishing on Dogger Bank have been initially proposed in February 2021, with the world making up one in all 4 particular areas of conservation that wanted safety.

The UK Government has said the choice was reached to guard sand eels – an vital meals supply for marine birds and porpoises.

The Blue Marine Foundation, ClientEarth, the Marine Conservation Society and the WWF have stated a long time of commercial bottom-trawling have been the “probable cause” of a decline in fish shares on Dogger Bank.