Eustice is tackled as fishing woes rise

TWO Westcountry MPs have challenged fellow Cornish MP and Secretary of State George Eustice over the impact Brexit has had on the fishing industry.

Steve Double, MP for St Austell and Newquay, and Sheryl

Murray, MP for South East Cornwall, posed questions to Mr Eustice, MP for Camborne and Redruth, in the House of Commons last week.

They used a debate on the fishing industry and the

European Union trade and co-operation agreement last Thursday to raise concerns.

Mr Double said: “The secretary of state will be aware that fishermen in Cornwall have been very disappointed with the agreement reached on quota with the EU, and the fact that its vessels can still fish in our six to 12-mile limit.

“There is real concern that our inshore fleet, which makes up the vast majority of vessels in my constituency, will benefit little from this new deal, so what assurances can he give the fishermen of Mevagissey and Newquay, as well as fishermen across Cornwall, that the Government will be working with our inshore fleet to make sure it can benefit as much as possible from this new deal, and that those fishermen will be in a good position to increase their share of the quota when we come to the end of the adjustment period?”

Mr Eustice replied: “We left the London fisheries convention and gave notice under that, because it is our intention that the six to 12-mile zone should be reserved predominantly for our own fishermen, and, at the end of the five-and-a-half years, that is what we will be seeking to achieve.”

Mrs Murray, a supporter of Brexit, called for the Government to provide compensation to fishing businesses impacted by the new arrangements. She said: “My constituent Andrew Trust, the owner of Ocean Harvest, is finding that the high cost of border control charges, export health certificates, and the uncertainty that his fish will reach the buyer in the EU poses a real threat to his business. What compensating measures will the Government put in place?”

Mr Eustice replied: “The key thing is to get this process working more smoothly, and that requires traders to familiarise themselves with it. I have also spoken to fish operators in my constituency, which is in that part of the world. Those who have experience of exporting more widely around the world, including to the far east, are quite familiar with these processes and are coping with them, but for those businesses for which this is new, it will take time to get used to the paperwork.”