Before the 2016 referendum, Europhobe media frequently cited fishing as an industry that would thrive outside the EU.
But since the referendum, British fishers have been finding it hard or impossible to sell their catches into the EU, which pre-Brexit bought half of Britain’s total catch.
Demand for some types of fish and seafood is very limited in the UK. Conversely, some fish that Brits like to eat is caught mostly in EU waters.
One of the many bad effects of all the red tape, supply and transport problems, is that the great British treat, fish and chips, is going up in price. As one fish and chip shop owner in Hull told
The Guardian: “I voted on the information I was given and within three days I just knew I’d voted the wrong way.”
Within a few weeks of the end of the transition period, UK fishers, too, were horrified to discover
what Brexit really meant for them, including having to lay off crew members.
Meanwhile, a damaging row with France over fishing rights rumbles on. Pre-Brexit, robust differences of view over fishing were common but were resolved around the EU table – which makes sense as fish are a common resource that needs sharing and conserving