
Fishermen in Britain on Saturday claimed that Prime Minister Boris Johnson had sold out British fish stocks to the European Union as part of the recently inked Brexit deal.
The deal gives EU boats a lot of access to the UK’s waters for fishing. Some British politicians also lashed out at Johnson, calling him a sell out.
The UK is set to leave EU’s Common Fisheries Policy on December 31. Under the new trade deal which was confirmed on December 24, the current rules are set to remain as is for the upcoming 5.5 years - the transition period.
As time goes by, the EU and UK will hold annual discussions on the bloc’s access to British waters.
The National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations claimed that the fishing industry had been sacrificed by Johnson.
For instance - in the Celtic Sea haddock, the UK’s share will increase from 10 per cent to 20 per cent, which leaves 80 per cent in the mercy of EU fleets for the next five years.
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"In the end-game, the prime minister made the call and caved in on fish, despite the rhetoric and assurances," the group said. "There will of course be an extensive public relations exercise to portray the deal as a fabulous victory, but it will inevitably be seen by the fishing industry as a defeat”, it added.
The deal will preserve Britain's zero-tariff and zero-quota access to the bloc's single market of 450 million consumers, but will not prevent economic pain and disruption for the UK or for EU member states.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday had described the last-minute agreement as a "jumbo" free trade deal along the lines of that between the EU and Canada, and urged Britain to move on from the divisions caused by the 2016 Brexit referendum.