AUTHORS: Mia Pantzar

This paper outlines priorities for future UK fisheries policy in light of Brexit and the challenges facing fish stocks and the marine environment in Europe and beyond.

Fisheries policy is among a number of areas which are particularly vulnerable in the event of a “hard” Brexit. The failure to negotiate an arrangement with the EU-27 in time might pose a great risk to already vulnerable stocks. Our evidence stresses the need to formally adopt conventional management concepts and principles in favour of sustainable fisheries and ecosystem-based fisheries management, to enable regional and international cooperation on monitoring and to secure domestic resources for successful enforcement. 

The paper was originally submitted as evidence to the House of Lords EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee’s inquiry about the future of fisheries following the vote by the UK to leave the European Union. 

Both leading up to and after the referendum on June 23rd 2016, IEEP has been working with environmental stakeholders in the UK to identify the risks and opportunities arising from a UK departure from the EU, including in our earlier reports for UK NGOs and for the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Environment. With the Brexit negotiations now having started, the creation of new, and revision of existing, domestic UK policies is forthcoming.

For more information on our work on fisheries policy, contact Mia Pantzar or Andrew Farmer.