Politics: British fishermen's quota shows net loss
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.THE GOVERNMENT won concessions on several smaller fishing quotas last night, to compensate for big reductions in Britain's right to exploit traditional stocks.
After 17 hours of negotiations in Brussels, Eliot Morley, Fisheries Minister, won agreement for a deal he estimated was worth pounds 30m more for Britain's fishing industry than the European Commission's proposal.
However, Mr Morley did accept swingeing cuts in big quotas, including those for herring off the west coast of Scotland and haddock in the North Sea.
In both those cases Britain agreed with the commission's scientific advice that the reductions were vital to conserve fish stocks for future years. However, there was no attempt to disguise the fact that the quotas for next year will leave many of the country's 10,000 fishermen worse off, and the consumer facing higher prices.
The fishing industry was divided on the deal. Hamish Morrison, of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation, described the cuts as "disastrous". But Barrie Deas, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations, said it "was a successful exercise against ... extreme proposals".
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments