The fishing industry said it was “bitterly
disappointed” that Boris Johnson had not secured control of the 12 miles of
fishing waters off the coast of Britain.
Barrie Deas, the head of the National Federation
of Fisherman’s Organisations, said Boris Johnson had had his “Ted Heath moment”
– a reference to the former prime minister giving away fishing rights in
British waters in 1973.
“I think what I would say is that there’s a gap
between the rhetoric and the delivery,” Deas said. “There’s always been that
fear within the fishing industry that there would be a repeat of of 1973, that
in order to secure other national objectives fishing would be considered expendable.
Yeah, I don’t think it’s untrue to say that there are echoes of Ted Heath in
this series.”
He said the five-and-a-half-year promise of a
blank slate for fresh negotiation was “justice deferred, justice denied” and
the fishing industry felt that “for the first time in 40 years” the Tories had
created “an opportunity to redefine our fisheries relationship with the EU”.
“I think the industry will be bitterly
disappointed”, he said. “I think there will be fury about the failure to secure
an exclusive 12-mile zone.” The area is particularly important in southern
waters, where large French trawlers come within six miles of Cornwall and the
Channel to fish haddock and cod, and for those around the Thames estuary who
have to compete with Belgian trawlers.
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