The report calls in particular for “agree at European level to impose on the British the principle of multiannual negotiations for fishing quotas after 2026, as exists with other third countries”.
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France has been fighting for almost a year – and the application of the new post-Brexit rules – to obtain licenses allowing its fishermen to work in British waters. In one report published Wednesday, December 15, senators warn of a risk of‘”gradual exclusion of French fishermen from British waters” and call on the government to fight to the end on the fishing license issue.
This report castigates the “bad faith” of London, but also the “passivity” of the European Commission and the difficulty of Paris in defending a sector which represents, “from sea to plate”, about “100,000 jobs” and for the fishing activity alone 1.2 billion euros in turnover. However, nearly 25% of French catches are made in British waters, while 70% of British seafood is exported to Europe.
“There are still 74 licenses that have not been granted, which is not acceptable. We must continue to fight.”, declared the author of the report, Alain Cadec, vice-president of the European affairs committee of the Senate, during a press conference. For Senator LR from Côtes-d’Armor, the “some licenses” still awaited are not “not anecdotal” : France’s success or failure in this dossier will set the tone for all future negotiations with the United Kingdom.
Under the post-Brexit trade agreement, all European fishermen will have to give up 25% of their catch in British waters by the summer of 2026. While technical fishing arrangements have not yet been agreed for licenses granted, the alert report on “the uncertainty which remains as to the model which will be chosen by the British for the management of stocks in their waters after 2026”.
The British have already announced the imposition of new standards for certain mesh sizes for January 2022 and tried to impose, before giving up, quotas and fishing periods for the post-Brexit licenses granted. The report therefore calls for “agree at European level to impose on the British the principle of multiannual negotiations for fishing quotas after 2026, as it exists with other third countries”, which would make it possible to economically secure the fishermen.