Farage, fishing and pulling free from the EU net

As you tuck into your pre-Christmas cod or mull over what wine you should drink with your salmon starter on Christmas Day, Nigel Farage might not be the first thing that comes to mind. But our self-proclaimed transatlantic emissary could end up having a bigger influence on our fish suppers than he does on our relations with the US.

On 15 June, the former UKIP leader spearheaded an audacious publicity stunt on the Thames, leading his pro-Brexit flotilla of fishing boats down the river in a scene reminiscent of Kevin Costner flop Waterworld. Farage and his colleagues then infamously clashed with a group of Remain-supporting boats led by sweary pop star Bob Geldof in one of the most unedifying moments of what was an unedifying referendum campaign.

But at the heart of Farage’s stunt was a message of support to the UK’s beleaguered fishing crews, whom he claimed would benefit from the freedom to fish their own waters post-Brexit, and would see a return to prosperity.

And this question – whether Brexit will lead to better times for our fishing industry – is one that will form an intriguing backdrop to the next two years, as prime minister Theresa May and her team attempt to unpick the UK’s relationship with the EU.

Scottish Fishermen’s Federation CEO Bertie Armstrong was bullish this week when he told the Commons Brexit Committee the fishing sector could thrive outside the much-maligned Common Fisheries Policy and the single European market.

However, a report published by the Lords EU Committee last week on the opportunities and challenges for the sector post-Brexit was decidedly less clear cut.

As an independent nation, free from the shackles of the EU, the UK would be able to represent its own interests in vital international fisheries negotiations with neighbouring states, the report said, and significantly, would be able to control access by foreign vessels to UK waters.

But withdrawal from the CFP would not in itself solve the issue of ‘quota hopping’ - where overseas companies buy up quotas from UK fishermen. And the UK would still have to cooperate with its maritime neighbours on fisheries management.

Even more crucially, as the majority of fish caught by UK fleets is exported (mostly to EU member states), and the majority of fish consumed in the UK is imported, the industry would still need continued market access.

“Continued access to free, or preferential, trade in fish and seafood will therefore be crucial for the seafood industry and UK consumers,” the report warned, pointing out the alternative was potentially punitive trade tariffs.

Some industry commentators have already suggested access to our fisheries could be a valuable bargaining chip when the government comes to negotiating a post-Brexit trade deal, and the Lords report suggests untangling UK fisheries from the EU will be extremely challenging.

Fish stocks don’t respect national boundaries, and this particular Brexit negotiation could prove to be as decidedly slippery as Farage himself.