thread

SPRAT TO CATCH A MACKEREL

1. I've spent a couple of hours looking over the fisheries section within the trade agreement. I'm disappointed & concerned.

Here's a few 'highlights' from the limited time I've taken to read & digest it.

2. If the object of the FTA was to barter fish in exchange for market access for goods & services, fine.

But for those who expected fisheries to improve measurably I believe the FTA fails to deliver.

3. If we look back to the fisheries negotiation objectives, there's little that has been fulfilled. The Govt. wanted fisheries in a separate agreement to prevent the very thing that seems to have happened.

4. The annex to fisheries expresses allocations in % over the next 5 years (see pages 893 - 898). There's little improvement in catches over the 5 year period & I'm struggling to see where the 25% uplift in value is obtained. I'd like to know how that figure was calculated?

5. Particularly when taking into account the reduction in total quotas due to depleted stocks, it's my view the UK allocation may see a reduction rather than an increase with some stocks (in fairness, as will EU member states too).

6. The Fisheries provisions begin with a dog whistle, setting out the sovereign rights of coastal states (page 261).

But by Article FISH 18 (page 274) we can see a 4 year periodic duty to consider codification. That sounds like a Common Fisheries Policy by any other name to me.

7. Politically this makes for uncertainty in future general elections as somewhere along the line a party will consider a more permanent fisheries agreement to be bartered for other benefits. EU membership revisited but given another title.

8. I'm not comfortable with that & for that very reason fisheries ought to have been a separate agreement, away from the FTA.

9. Article FISH 9 (page 267) provides a right for a party to 'compensatory measures' in the event of reduction or withdrawal of access. This amounts to tariffs on fish/seafood or reciprocal denial of access to EU fishing waters.

10. Article FISH 17 is the termination clause, allowing a Party to terminate Headings of the Agreement by giving 9 months notice. A termination of Fisheries will also terminate Headings on Trade, Aviation, Road & Transport.

11. From an environmental pov it's very disappointing. Supertrawlers still have access to our waters & EU access hasn't been reduced by much.

From a UK pov this will give the SNP the ammunition they need as there isn't enough benefit in the uplifts for Scottish fishers.

12. For our own stability there is the periodic 4 yearly reviews to set the provisions into a more permanent format, so pressure will be applied on fisheries in return for enhanced access in other sectors.

Boris, I'm p1ssed off with you.

13. To think they're going to try to get this through Parliament on the 30th & I've only managed to browse through one section of the agreement. I'm sure longer scrutiny & cross referencing will pull up more potential issues.

14. I think the FTA is too big to rush. I'm concerned.

Where's an effective opposition when you need one?

15. Anyway, I have a spouse who's sick to death of seeing the back of my anti-social head & a mountain of work to get through over the New Year, so I'm taking a break for a short while.

Wishing you all good health & a peaceful New Year.