MP Emma Hardy joins the fight to save the Kirkella
FISHING VESSEL REMAINS DOCKED INDEFINITELY
HULL MP Emma Hardy has joined the fight to support Hull’s last distant-water fishermen, as their vessel the Kirkella remains docked in the city’s docks indefinitely.
Before Brexit happened on January 1, the vessel had fished in the sub-arctic waters off countries like Norway and the Faroe Islands under quota agreements between those countries and the EU.
But since those agreements ceased to be binding on the UK, the Kirkella has lost its access to those waters and has remained docked in Hull indefinitely since it landed its last catch at the start of December.
A Government spokesman has told the Mail that UK negotiations to establish new fishing agreements with those countries would be concluded “as soon as possible”.
But deck hand Ricky Campbell, one of the Kirkella’s 100-strong crew, recently said he has still heard no news on a potential date that he might return to sea, adding that it was becoming a “scary” time.
Now Hull West and Hessle MP Emma Hardy has slammed the Government’s handling of the issue.
Last week, Ms Hardy posed questions in Parliament over what she said was Government “incompetence”, adding that people’s livelihoods where at risk.
“I have questioned the Conservative Government on several occasions why it has not yet agreed a viable fishing quota so that Hull’s trawler can go back fishing,” she said. “And the response I keep getting is that it is in the process of being sorted.
“In December we were led to believe that the Conservatives and the Prime Minister had an ‘oven-ready’ deal, now half way through January there are many people concerned that their livelihoods are disappearing because this government cannot get
We were led to believe that the Conservatives and the Prime Minister had an ‘oven-ready’ deal MP Emma Hardy
its act together.”
Luke Pollard MP and Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “The distant waters fishing fleet has been tied up alongside because the Conservative Government failed to prepare properly for Brexit.
“Fishers based in Hull were made grand promises by ministers that turned out not to be true.
“Fishing matters and that’s why I’m backing Hull’s MPS in their relentless campaign to force ministers to act to support Hull’s distant water fleet.
“Jobs will be lost if ministers do not up their game and fast.”