AQW 9724/17-22

Mr John Blair
Alliance Party
South Antrim

Tabled Date: 04/11/2020
Answered On Date: 23/08/2021
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to support the recreational fishing sector in respect of negotiations on the UK's future relationship with the EU.

Answer:

The UK is now an independent coastal state and agreement on future fisheries management was part of the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) signed in December 2020.

Mutual access to each other’s waters is implemented through a licencing system for fishing vessels. In general there is now no access by EU fishing vessels inside the UK’s 0-12 nautical mile coastal belt which is where most recreational sea angling takes place.

In Irish waters and the Northern Ireland zone, commercial fishermen from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are still allowed reciprocal fishing access in the 0-6 nautical mile coastal belt under the Voisinage agreement which has been retained.

I would not therefore expect opportunities for recreational fishing to change as a result of the change in relationship between the UK and the EU. The UK’s objective in all international negotiations is to ensure that all fish stocks, including those which are targeted by recreational fishermen, are managed sustainably for the benefit of all fishermen.