Brexit Britain has ‘opportunity’ to allow fishermen to THRIVE…but type of EU deal is key | UK | News (Reports)

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Brexit trade talks between the UK and EU may have stalled but an expert has highlighted the benefits the fishing industry can expect if a fishing deal is agreed. Queen Mary’s School of Business and Management professor Liam Campling argued depending on the type of agreement reached on fishing, small scale fishermen could thrive. During an interview with Express.co.uk, he said the small scale fishermen could also aid in shifting the current buying habits of Britons across the country.

Professor Campling said: “Let us assume there is a post-Brexit trade deal between the UK and EU.

“If there is and the UK does have control over its Exclusive Economic Zone and let us say that the continental Europeans are managing shared stocks, fish that move between both zones.

“If they are doing well the next big question will be how the British will manage the species they have sovereign rights over.

“This gives a real opportunity for Britain to allow smaller-scale fishers to thrive.”

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Professor Campling explained the issues with past fishing agreements and how the UK could change this going forward.

He said: “In the past, smaller-scale fishers haven’t thrived.

“Historically what Britain has done is allocate individual transferable quota and that tends to concentrate amongst the big players.

“So you have a very small number of very powerful fishing interests in Britain who control the vast majority of the commercial stocks.

“At the moment the British consumer as a whole tends to be quite conservative.

“They mostly only eat cod, salmon, tuna and so on.”

Brexit trade talks between the UK and EU have so far only resulted in a stalemate with no solid trade agreement in sight.

While both sides have claimed a no deal is a growing possibility, both the UK and EU have insisted they are determined to work towards a trade deal. 

Fishing remains one of the most contentious issues in talks between EU chief Michel Barnier and UK chief negotiator David Frost, as Brussels continues to demand access to British waters after the end of the transition period.

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