Government Fisheries White Paper – Greenpeace reaction

Responding to the release of Defra’s Fisheries White Paper, Paul Keenlyside, Political Advisor at Greenpeace UK, said:

‘Local, low-impact fishing communities in the UK have been hung out to dry for years, and it is disappointing to see that the long awaited White Paper does little to resolve this. If the Government really believes that fish in the sea are a public resource and the rights to catch them are a public asset, putting this principle into action should, by all rights, give a much bigger slice of the pie to local, low-impact fishers.

‘But Defra’s much delayed Fisheries White Paper contradicts this principle by remaining committed to the existing, unfair, approach to quota allocation, under which two-thirds of English fishing quota is owned by just three large companies. While it proposes an alternative approach for “new” quota available to the UK after Brexit, it is currently unclear how much “new” quota there will be if the Government is sticking with science-based policy to avoid overfishing, and there certainly won’t be any during a transition period, during which the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy would still apply.

‘Rather than leaving low-impact fishers reliant on negotiated concessions from Brussels, the Government should use the powers it already has to reward those fishing in a more sustainable way, ensuring the social cohesion of seaside communities, and creating jobs and boosting coastal economies.’

ENDS

For further information, comment and interviews:

Luke Massey, Press & Communications Officer, luke.massey@greenpeace.org, 07973 873 155