Anne-Marie Trevelyan, Member of Parliament for Berwick-upon-Tweed today questioned the Prime Minister about supporting our fishermen during the implementation period as part of the process of leaving the European Union. Anne-Marie has spoken with concerned fishermen, and was determined to raise this issue at the very highest level.
Anne-Marie asked;
“The EU agreement published this week has sadly left my fishermen in Amble and the north-east very anxious. While it is great news that we will regain control of our fishing grounds at the end of the implementation period, there is real concern that our EU colleagues might try to take advantage of our losing our voice in the CFP by altering discard rules or quota rules during the implementation period. Will the Prime Minister consider asking the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to prepare a financial mitigation plan to protect our fleet until 2021 should we need to do so?”
The Prime Minister responded by saying;
“The implementation period is there so that people have the certainty of being able to operate on the same basis until we reach the new partnership that we are negotiating. As I said earlier, in that new partnership, we want to take back control of our waters but ensure that British fishermen are not unfairly denied access to other waters and that we can rebuild our fishing industry. That is important. My hon. Friend mentioned quotas. It has been agreed that the stability key will not be changed, so the quotas that British fishermen will be operating under will not be changed. I know that DEFRA is looking actively at how we can ensure that we not only maintain our fishing industry, but enhance and rebuild it after we leave.”
Following PMQ’s Anne-Marie commented “The announcement this week has left many fishermen in our patch very concerned. It was important for us to hear the Prime Minister confirm that we want to take back control of our waters and ensure that British fishermen are not unfairly treated. We have a bright future as an independent coastal state which will allow our fishing industry to flourish once again. I will be providing non-stop support for our fishermen both back in Northumberland and here in Westminster to ensure that our fleet is protected, that we try and ensure there is a financial mitigation plan in place and that our fishermen are not unfairly treated.”