For Jim Portus, who has represented the hunting interests of Devon and Corniche for 33 years, the Brixi The trade deal provided a realistic lesson in false promises.
After volunteering to delay his retirement as CEO of the South West Fish Producers Organization until the Brexit deal expires, Portus questioned the wisdom of his decision on Saturday.
“I thought we were going to score a great victory, but many of the promises that were made were not kept,” said the 66-year-old.
Not only was the sector getting a chance to fish far less than expected, according to Downing Street allegations Maintaining sovereignty From the fishing industry – taking back control of UK waters was a central message to the holiday campaign in 2016 – it appeared on a massive scale.
“The deal means that we are still tied to the trampoline of the European Union, and we are not an independent coastal country,” said Portos, whose organization accounts for nearly a third of the 300 or so large fishing vessels operating from ports like Newlin. In the southwest Cornwall And Brixham, South Devon. “We should have decided the rules and regulations on how to manage those stocks in order to control access arrangements for other countries.”
Fishing rights have been one of the last sticking points in post-Brexit trade talks, largely due to their political weight, but Portus feels that Boris Johnson has finally given up.
On Saturday, Barry Dias, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organization, accused the prime minister of “packing” it in the fishing quotas.
Portus added: “I am at the end of my career but it is [Johnson] He made direct promises to the Hunters and I am very disappointed of them. We must rebuild our fleet and cheer for our children. We should be planning for a resurgence rather than selling us in the river again. “
Prior to joining SWFPO, Portus worked as a fisheries inspector and saw for himself what he felt about the negative effects of the Common Fisheries Policy, signed in 1970 which dictates that every fishing fleet in the European Union should have the same access to European waters.
“I have witnessed the despair in the fishing industry for a long time. We thought that after the referendum, when we got out of the Common Fisheries policy, [we would be] Free from influence from Brussels but we make fun of their systems.
“ Really, what embodies the deal is A. Reference to penalties and compensation To pay the foreign hunters if we decide to prevent them from reaching our 12-mile limit in five years. It is a shame [Johnson] He allowed himself to dictate to him Brussels. “
in another place, Fisheries of the United Kingdom Jane Sandel, chief executive, said Johnson’s pledge that the deal would allow the UK to “catch and eat massive amounts of excess fish” sounded hollow. “We are still looking for the” enormous quantities of fish “that we were promised, and that will not change anything for us,” she said.
A senior member of the UK negotiating team defended the agreement, describing Fish as “one of the areas in which we have to make concessions to some degree”, but said this was done by “both sides”.
The official said, “Although there has been a transition, at the end of the transition period it returns to normal arrangements, and we have complete control over our waters.”
There is a transition to this point, and we’d better get out of it a little faster, but the place we have to do is acceptable and offers short-term gains for the fisheries industry and a great right to control and work through everything after this five and a half years of transition. “
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