The automatic right of EU vessels to fish in British waters will come to an end at the end of the transition period in December.

That is a legal guarantee contained in the Fisheries Bill, which is published today. It says foreign vessels will have to be licensed and follow rules set by the UK if they fish in British waters.

It will also make sure that any fishing will be at sustainable levels.

However, for a UK fishing industry hoping Brexit will herald a new golden age, there are fears the government will "sell them down the river" in the coming trade negotiations.

Fishing waters and quotas - who gets what - are likely to feature early in the talks, which aim to pull together, over the next 12 months, a comprehensive trade deal on the UK's future relationship with the EU.


The apprehension of the industry is intense because it believes it was used as a bargaining chip when Britain originally joined the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973.

Image: British fishermen hate the common fisheries policy

Under that arrangement, access to UK waters was divvied up with other members.

Quotas soon became fixed annually through the common fisheries policy (CFP).

On the high seas of the English Channel, the CFP and all it represents is hated by British fishermen - it's why the industry voted overwhelmingly in favour of Leave.

Dave Driver, a veteran of the industry and skipper of the trawler Girl Debra, told Sky News Brexit must be about correcting what he says is an historic injustice.

"Hopefully it's a big change for the industry; a lot of fishermen are hoping it's going to be a big change," he said.

"We've been sold down the river 40 years ago by [Edward] Heath so we just want a bit of what is ours back."

Image: Girl Debra skipper Dave Driver is worried about trade negotiations

But he is under no illusions that the negotiations will be plain sailing.

He added: "We think we were dealt a raw deal, obviously. We think we should have more quota - not for the French and the Belgians, they have got a lot more quota than we've got.

"Yes, they've got a bigger fishing fleet, but it is in our waters. And if we can get the six miles extended to the 12, smaller boats like this should prosper."

Image: Small boats like the Girl Debra struggle compared with European fleets

Britain has some of the richest fishing waters in the world. As an island nation it enjoys miles and miles of fertile coastline.

But the industry is just a small percentage of the total economy. The UK's negotiating team will be under extreme pressure to concede extensive access for the European fleet in return for market access to other industries.

Fishing, for instance, represents about 0.12% of GDP; financial services account for 6.9%.

But fishing is an extremely emotive issue for Brexiteers; it's a touchstone and is what success, in the short term at least, will be measured by.

And that is because of what it signifies.

Image: Frictionless trade remains important for some parts of the business

If Brexit was about "taking back control", then being able to say who can fish in British waters and what they can or cannot catch cuts to the heart of the issue of sovereignty and breaking free from Brussels.

The chief executive of South Western Fish Producer Organisation, Jim Portas, says what happens over the next few months will be highly significant.

"The fishing industry is the acid test of Boris Johnson's government in Number 10 and I sincerely hope that he will live up to all the promises he's made for more than three years now," he said.

"The industry was sacrificed in the early 70s for other objectives of government, so it is entirely for Whitehall and other departments to decide where their priorities are. The industry could be sacrificed again."

The industry will soon find out if the promises made by politicians will be honoured, as a deal involving fishing will need to be done by the summer.

But if quotas and fishing rights are linked to a wider trade deal, the fishermen who were some of the most vocal supporters of Brexit may not end up with what they voted for.

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