Theresa May urged to send in Royal Navy and air force to defend British waters from foreign trawlers after Brexit
EU quotas mean that 1.7mil tonnes of fish are thrown away each year - half of what is caught in our seas, claim experts
Theresa May was last night urged to use the Navy to take back control of British waters now – as EU laws are forcing fishermen to throw 1.7 million tonnes of dead fish back into sea each year.
Experts claimed the huge waste represents HALF of what is caught in British waters.
Think tank The Adam Smith Institute said the EU’s disastrous fisheries policy should be repealed following the Brexit vote, and replaced with a ten point plan to ban all foreign boats from UK waters.
The Navy and air-force would then be drafted in to enforce the new rules.
The experts claim that “the EU’s Total Allowable Catch quota has led to the dumping of dead and dying edible fish back into the sea to the tune of 1.7 million tonnes a year.”
Adding “the catastrophic policy has decimated fish stocks in Europe and has lead to the systematic plundering of developing countries waters with heavily subsidised and oversized boats.”
Their new report “Catch of the Day”, launched today, claims that the “European Common Fisheries Policy has savaged UK waters” with up to “80 per cent of fish caught in UK waters netted by foreign boats.”
The report also states that “some years as much as 50 per cent of all fish caught thrown back dead or dying to the water.”
The group’s new ten point plan would increase the area around Britain’s coast open exclusively to our fisherman “from 12 miles to the 200 as specified by the UN.”
They would then fit all boats with “satellite tracking devices” to “constantly” monitor their positions.
They also call for “naval and air patrols over UK fishing waters to identify and intercept illegal fishing” and police the new rules.
President of the Adam Smith Institute, Dr. Madsen Pirie, said his plan “gives Britain a blueprint to reshape its entire fishing industry in the wake of Brexit.”
He told The Sun: “Regaining control of the UK’s fisheries is vitally important so we should make it clear now and publicly that this is a red-line issue and that the UK intends to implement this policy, whatever agreement might be reached with the EU.”
Last night Tory MP for Dover Charlie Elphicke backed the report, suggesting Theresa May should “take on board” the recommendations.
“This report shows why we need not only a Dover Patrol to keep the English Channel safe and secure from people trafficking, but we must also take control of Britain’s fishing waters,” he added.
“This report has some powerful ideas that will protect British territorial waters and the government should consider taking them on board.”
A Defra spokesperson said last night:“Our fishing industry is immensely valuable and supporting our fishermen will form an important part of our exit from the EU.
“Brexit means Brexit and the government is going to make a success of it – this means ensuring a profitable fishing industry, sustainable stocks and a healthy marine environment.”