Why is neither side discussing fishing?

[BritBrit]

Particularly the leave campaign, under international law every country is allowed to control 200 miles off their coast for fishing/oil etc. Being in the EU means we have to open our fishing waters to the entire EU & other nations are given a quota of our fish.

The UK has 70% of all EU fishing stocks but we are only given 13% of the catch by the EU, we are effectively giving away billions of pounds of resources to other EU nations. If we leave the EU we would regain control of our fishing waters, this means we could create thousands of jobs, billions in tax income & create UK industry particularly in UK coastal areas. Iceland, Greenland & Norway refused to join the EU because of the issue of fishing & refused to give their fishing waters away

I agree. Surprising that this is not an issue with Scottish voters especially. Or is it? Anyone from Scotland around who can tell us about more local campaigns?

Lots of jobs, lots of money ( Norway exports £5 billion per year just in fish) and importantly these jobs are mainly in rural communities which have been left to either neglect or tourism.

There is also the ecological aspect. Allowing the EU to plunder our fisheries has resulted in massive overfishing and dead fish being dumped over the side if they don't match the quota.

Would take a few years for our fishing industry to reignite, which will give the fish time to recover.

No-one talks about it because it doesn't affect London or the South East.

I totally agree too. Fishing was mentioned briefly on Question Time yesterday, when an audience member spoke of British fishermen being paid to burn their boats. I've hardly heard any other mention of it from the campaigns though.

We are a maritime nation and fishing is important to the UK. It's part of our heritage and generations of families have worked in the industry. Former fishing communities have been devastated, for example Grimsby now has one of the highest levels of unemployment. The Common Fisheries Policy was disastrous for British fishing.

Salt in their veins and fire in their bellies: fishermen battling for Brexit

I agree. The occasional fisherman is interviewed on the news and always so bitter and frustrated with the EU, I think the Leave campaign should exploit that pov.

I had no idea, thanks for bringing it to attention. I'm off to google some info.

I had no idea about this either. Just further reinforces my leave vote

Thank you for this. Id wondered how it would affect the fisheries. I am vote leave, but could be swayed by a decent argument from farming and fisheries as I'm aware of their subsidies.

BaboonBottom - You have to believe that if we leave, the farmers and fisheries would still receive at least the equivalent of the EU money they get today (ie. our money, sent to Brussels, sent back to our farmers and fisheries) - why not cut out the middleman? Genuine question - why put this layer of bureacracy in place? Any Scottish/Cornish fishermen/women out there who can comment on this - how has the EU affected your fishing community?

I did see some coverage of Cornish fisherman supporting the leave campaign but not much at all.

Our social geography and infrastructure has been based on fishing over hundreds of years.

Frankly the common fisheries policy is one of the most evil things ever inacted upon our coastline. It is our fish and our waters account for 70% of the European total. Under the wasteful quotas which no other country follows we get just 13% of our fish and actually have to import more than we sell.

Fishing villages have been left to ruin, decay and a reliance on tourism whilst the London bankers profit.

Whilst the leave campaign focuses on a £10.1 billion saving the EU thinks that brexit will cost them over £30 billion per year, much of the difference will be due to fish.

Brexit would mean lower prices, better ecology, a much needed boost to regional economies, a massive change in the balance of payments, an increase in exports and huge savings in benefits payments.

Micheal Gove has mentioned his father's fishing business going to the wall and the News at 10 did visit Peterhead and spoke to the fishing for leave campaign.

The North East of Scotland was lucky in some respects in that it had the oil industry to absorb some of the unemployed fishermen.

It's been covered on our local BBC news as live near the coast. They managed to make it balanced by former fishermen saying EU has been disaster and shellfish fishermen says EU a big market for them to sell to:
bridlington-shellfish.co.uk/

Balance?

How is only being allowed to keep 13% of our fish a reason to give balance?

This is explicitly a huge economic and social win for brexit, yet one the treasury chose not to highlight in their dodgy dossier.

Spin you need to take that one up with BBC editors.

The Leave campaign don't like to press the fisheries angle too hard because it could lead to some embarrassing questions they can't answer.

Like how British fisherman overfished their own grounds so hard in the late 1970s that it started the Cod War with Iceland when going into their territorial waters.

And like how British fisherman sell their fishing licences to foreign fisherman.

And how the EU - who is supposedly all powerful and rules over the member states - doesn't have the power to do what is necessary to replenish fish stocks. Which is introduce wide-ranging bans on fishing.

Lastly, many fish aren't respecters of international boundaries.

Lastly, many fish aren't respecters of international boundaries.

Not literally, of course. But fish do have natural patterns to their locations, dependent on the seasons.

Quotes from www.gofishing.co.uk/Sea-Angler/Section/how-to/Sea-Fishing-Advice/Fishing-Tips/Advanced-species-tactics/UK-Species/

"UK waters offer a diverse range of fish species. Some are resident, some migratory, some are bottom dwellers, others pelagic (swimming near the surface). We even have some sub-tropical visitors. Many have suffered from commercial exploitation, leading to depleted numbers and a smaller average size."

"The movement and migration of fish has a great effect on results and we are constantly reminded about being in the right place at the right time. Cast where there are no fish and you go biteless. The seasons have a major influence on fish movement, and we describe some species as summer fish and others as winter fish. When these two overlap, the result can be a fish bonanza. Generally this is during the autumn, as early as September or as late as December. Global warming and the change in seasonal temperatures has an effect, while the arrival of the winter, which is always a gradual north to south progression around our coasts, means that some regions will fish better for longer than others, and at different times of year."

"Many common species have a liking for a particular marine location – it could be a specific sea feature like a reef, gulley, rock face or estuary. Here is a general overview of what species are found where. Remember, though, that migration can place species in venues they are passing through, which is why this is a guide rather than a hard-and-fast rule."

They all sound like remarkably easy questions to answer...

I come from Cleethorpes & my family were heavily involved in the Grimsby fishing industry. Before we joined the EEC our fish stocks were dwindling & managing fish stocks needs to be done at EU/international level.

Yet you haven't.

Are you busy going through your UKIP Briefing Pack to find some 'answers'?

Further to my post above the vast majority of the decline in fish stocks occurred before the implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy in 1983. Since EU policy was reformed in 2002, the health of many fish stocks improved. By 2011 the majority of assessed fisheries were considered to be sustainably fished.

Fish don’t respect national boundaries. Mackerel, herring, cod and other commercial species are all highly mobile, & move easily across borders. So unlike more isolated countries such as Iceland & Norway, the UK was always going to have to share its fish with its neighbours.

This is brilliant... We have to share our fish with Bulgaria.

Would you like me to point out the flaws in your argument or would you like to do it yourself?

I am honestly in fits of giggles here.

Keep it coming. :D

Please tell us all about these imaginary Bulgarian trawlers hoovering up fish in British waters, Spinflight

We regularly see non UK boats in our waters here. The French negotiated a much more generous quota and now they are entitled to land the lions share of cod from the Channel. The UK was not able to negotiate the same deal.

If we enforce a maximum boat size and do away with the huge trawlers, but protect the inshore fleet, our fisheries could thrive outside the EU.

Enough stocks would survive into the 6 mile zone for the longevity of everyone's living. The reason stocks were decimated in the 1970s was because the boats had got bigger and technology more aggressive.

I've wondered why this isn't being discussed too. I am about 60% pro-remain but the inequitable split of fishing is something I dislike about the EU (I'm not going to vote that we take our ball back and go home because of it though). It worries me a bit that last time there was military aggression between the UK and another European country it was about fishing rights. Pro-leave people seem to think the "remain" side is ridiculous for pointing out the lack of any European wars in the last 40 years is a good thing that is thanks to the EU as if this would have happened naturally without the EU. However this peace could become fragile very easily if either a post-brexit-UK or a still-in-EU fishing fleet feels they should be entitled to more than the other believes reasonable.

under international law every country controls water out to 200 miles

Actually it's nautical miles.

Territorial waters out to 12nm, eez out to 200nm - these then are subject to shorter limits where the next country is closer than 400nm. Such as English channel and north Sea. In the uk we actually don't reach 200nm in a lot of places (other countries get in the way)

This is a really basic thing in maritime law.