Following the end of the Brexit transition period, our latest White Paper explores what the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement has to say on fisheries.

This article was published in 2021. Please see our latest research on post-Brexit fisheries arrangements:​ The Brexit deal and UK fisheries - has reality matched the rhetoric?

At the eleventh hour, the EU and UK agreed a deal to govern relations between the two parties when the Brexit transition period ended on 31 December 2020.

Throughout the Brexit Referendum campaign, and all the ups and downs of negotiating the withdrawal agreement and subsequent deal, fisheries had a high profile. So, what does the draft EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) say on fisheries?

Download our White Paper on the EU-UK TCA

The heading on fisheries provides for managing fisheries in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, establishes the objective that populations of harvested species should be above biomass levels that can produce the maximum sustainable yield (MSY), and identifies the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) as the main body responsible for providing scientific advice on management decisions.

The agreement provides regulatory autonomy of management decisions in each party’s waters. That is, the UK will be able to establish its own regulations for fisheries, as provided for by the UK Fisheries Bill 2020, and will not be bound to the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) rules.

Being able to deviate from the CFP and establish regulations that can be more responsive and specific to the situation in UK waters has always been an important issue for UK policy-makers and for the industry.

Our latest White Paper explores further what the TCA has to say on fisheries, including the framework setting for total allowable catches, access arrangements, quota shares and trade tariffs.

To learn more, download our White Paper.

Discover how ABPmer supports policy-makers, regulators and the fisheries and aquaculture industry.