The last fish in the sea ….. belongs to me!

Promises, promises, empty promises……

A chant that invariably grows louder among citizens as politicians are increasingly blamed for raising hope on the back of unattainable and often unrealistic promises. Sometimes these promises are flawed and potentially harmful. Brexit has been one such setting where questionable promises have and continue to be made. Take that London bus with the promise of a £ 350 million/week funding boost for the NHS. Invariably, such promises sound very appealing and raise hope, but more often than not, they are as mischievous as they are difficult to verify.

Another such promise that continues to be made is the ‘benefit’ of exiting the European Union (EU) Fisheries policy. This ‘contentious’ agreement historically allows all the 27 EU nations access to the region’s marine resources, including those within territorial limits of all the EU other nations. For example, Belgium takes its catch from UK waters while UK fisheries enjoy catches of cod in the Baltic

Fishermen of the region benefit from good scientific advice provided by a number of internationally mandated fisheries management structures, including ICES (the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) as well as the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) that inter alia hosts the North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC). This Commission plays a key role in negotiating fisheries protection and access in order to ensure sustainability. The UK’s own marine…