George Eustice:
Last year, the United Kingdom and the European Union concluded a new Trade and Cooperation Agreement. It has established tarifffree trade in all goods. Among other things, it sets a new relationship with the EU on fisheries. We have put in place a bilateral agreement for a term of five-and-a-half years. It sets out sharing and access arrangements for that first period. The negotiations on fisheries were particularly challenging, but this marks an important step in the right direction.
In the past year we have taken our independent seat at the Regional Fisheries Management Organisations, including the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission and the North Atlantic Fisheries Organisation. In September we reached a partnership agreement with Norway, our most important partner on fishing interests and with whom we have responsibility for shared stocks in the North Sea. We’ve also developed new bilateral arrangements with other Atlantic neighbours including the Faroes, Greenland and Iceland.
In order to regain our independence from the EU, we needed to leave the Customs Union and the Single Market. These changes have led to the introduction of new paperwork and systems for exporters, and in turn this has led to unexpected delays. That is why we announced that exporters across the UK would receive government support if they had faced a financial loss due to failures in EU import processes.
Today, I am broadening that support to a wider range of businesses. The fishing industry has suffered a significant impact as a result of the actions we have had to take to tackle the spread of Covid. The closure of markets at home and abroad has had an impact on the catching and shellfish sectors. Fish stocks such as hake and scallops have been particularly hard hit by the closure of traditional export markets and the reduction in demand from the hospitality sector.
Sales in UK molluscs such as mussels, cockles and oysters, which are highly sought after at home and abroad, have also been affected by the restrictions and new barriers to trade imposed by the EU. In recognition of this, we will be offering funding to help fishermen meet their fixed costs. Fishermen across the UK will be able to access this scheme. Catching vessels will be eligible for support of up to £10,000 to help with costs, including insurance, equipment hire and port costs. This will particularly help smaller fishing businesses, during what has been a uniquely challenging time, and build on the unprecedented package of support announced for small firms by the Chancellor.
The fund will be open to owners of vessels under 40m with fishing licences who recorded sales of £10,000 or more during 2019 and have a track record of fishing in the winter months. The scheme will also offer support to UK shellfish aquaculture businesses.
The UK fishing industry produces some of the finest seafood in Europe from the waters around our coast. By supporting the sector through some of the current challenges we will ensure they are well placed to recover once the world turns the corner on this pandemic and emerges from lockdown.