Remember how our fishermen were thrown overboard when we left the EU?

After decades of being filleted by the EU, they’re now fighting back

Montage © Brexit Facts4EU.Org 2025

A Facts4EU special, introducing a major campaign to restore our fishing industry and coastal communities

This is a story of the seas - British seas. A story of a once-proud, island maritime nation, surrounded by water on all sides. It is a story of those who risk their lives daily in an often inhospitable environment, putting to sea to bring us all back some of the most nutritious food that can appear on our plates.

It is also, sadly, a story of how these brave men and women saw their industry, their livelihoods, and their coastal communities tossed overboard in the final negotiations between the EU and UK governments, and how they saw firm and unequivocal promises being cruelly broken.

Menu: 'The Fish Course'

Intro: “Remember how our fishermen were thrown overboard when we left the EU?”
Part I: “In the 5th year of Brexit, EU fishermen continue taking vast quantities of British fish.”
Part II: UKFC CAMPAIGN LAUNCH - “Announcing the launch of the UK Fisheries Campaign!”
Part III: “‘Us’ versus ‘Them’ - and here’s how we win. The tide is turning against ‘the Blob’.”
Part IV: Weekend summary and next week lookahead
Coming: More gripping stories in this compelling series from the UK Fisheries Campaign!

The UKFC is independent.

We rely for funding on the British public and their fishermen.

From equiv't of £1.50/mth

Or be a 'Supporter' for FREE

Cancellation: You can cancel your plan at any time and no more payments will be taken.
Your privacy: Your details are shared with with NO-ONE. We understand why you might want your membership or your support to be private. And if you have any confidential information, our Chairman will deal with you direct so that your involvement is never known.

The UKFC - For a sea-change in the fortunes of our fishermen and our coastal communities

A major piece of ‘old school’ investigative journalism

For weeks, the Facts4EU.Org team has been working with fisheries groups, amassing all the facts and figures on the state of play in British waters. In addition, we have been investigating the practices and behaviours by non-UK owned vessels which UK fishermen have been seeing on a regular basis. Finally, we have been looking at the response of the UK authorities to the repeated claims and warnings of our fishermen.

We very soon reached a stark conclusion : Not only were our fishermen treated shabbily thanks to the UK’s membership of the EU and the set-up of its ‘Common Fisheries Policy’ (CFP) in 1983, they have also been sold down the river ever since the UK left the EU.

Brexit Facts4EU.Org Summary

How the UK’s fishing industry was filleted by the EU

The decimation of the British fishing fleet in the last 30 years

In the last 30 years, UK has lost an average of 209 boats per year from the fleet
That’s an average of four boats per week, gone
In some years, as many as 20 boats per week were mothballed or scrapped
In all, the UK's fishing fleet has more than halved in 30 years

All of this has happened under
the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy

How did all this happen? It's called the EU's "Common Fisheries Policy"

Here are some examples of the EU’s “take” of British fish, according to figures from the EU Commission and DEFRA. Of the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) in the southern North Sea, the EU receives:

93% of sole, catching 62% in British waters, or 7,750 tonnes
88% of horse mackerel, catching 76% in British waters, or 9,576 tonnes
91% of herring, catching 81% in British waters, or 221,000 tonnes

The history cannot simply be washed away

The summary above shows just one aspect of how the UK’s fishing and coastal communities were affected by years of EU membership. We can’t simply wash that history away, but perhaps we can start to put things right for the future.

For readers who have only joined us more recently, we should say we are not ‘Johnny-Come-Lately’s’ to this totemic issue. Over the last 10 years Facts4EU published a great many detailed reports in the lead up to the negotiations, during them, and afterwards when the full scale of the sell-out became clear. We published rather more than any other (non-specialist) pro-Brexit organisation, in fact. Now it’s time for us to take up the fight once more.

Before we launch our new series of reports on this, however, it’s worth looking back to what our fishermen were promised in the final months of the Brexit negotiations.

What was Boris Johnson’s policy on fisheries?

Responding to a question in the House of Commons on 22 October 2019, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:

“I can confirm that we will take back 100% control of the spectacular marine wealth of this country.”

In his Statement of 27 February 2020, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove confirmed that

“As well as concluding a full FTA, we will require a wholly separate agreement on fisheries. We will take back control of our waters as an independent coastal state, and we will not link access to our waters to access to EU markets. Our fishing waters are our sovereign resource, and we will determine other countries’ access to our resources on our terms.”

So what’s next?

Today’s report is a scene-setter for what is to come. In the coming days and weeks we will be revealing the full extent of what is currently going on, in a series of reports. We have photographic evidence and are seeking more. We have eyewitness testimony and want to get more. And we will have some very difficult questions for the authorities – in the UK as well as in the EU – to answer.

We also hope to secure more political support, after already receiving the backing of one former Cabinet Minister. (To any politicians reading this, please contact us now.) Finally, we have been in discussions with GB News, who have indicated that they would be interested in running these stories.

That just leaves you, our readership, and we hope you will want to read our 'Observations' below.

Observations

For the UK with its long tradition of its coastal communities earning a living from the sea, the EU's Common Fisheries Policy was little short of a disaster. Massive reductions in the UK’s fishing fleet, huge job losses, coastal communities transformed and depressed, and the marine environment threatened.

On top of this the UK, with some of the richest fishing waters in the world and a proud history of being a maritime nation, has been reduced to being a net importer of fish. In what universe can anyone imagine the UK being a net importer of fish? Just look at the map. Last time we checked, the UK was an island surrounded by some of the richest fishing grounds in the world.

This isn't about economics, it's about freedom

It is true that the UK’s fishing fleet doesn’t currently generate an enormous income compared to, say, the car industry. It could, however, grow again if it is given the freedom and independence it once enjoyed. It is also worth mentioning that any analysis by Rejoiners of the GDP arising from the fishing industry never takes into account the GDP ‘spin-off’, from all those employed in coastal areas as a result of fishing. Nor do the metropolitan Rejoiners ever understand the importance of the way and the quality of life in the communities around our coast.

Sometimes, it’s best just to go back to basics. The British people voted to leave the European Union and take back control. If an island nation does not control its own waters, it is not a free, independent and sovereign nation.

And finally, it's back to you...

Finally, major investigations such as this are very time-consuming and expensive. Would you become a sponsor of this campaign? We are seeking Associate Sponsors (£10-£25 donation), Sponsors (£26-£249 donation), and VIP Sponsors (£250+ donation). You can be credited or remain anonymous – you simply have to tell us which you prefer.

Any credit card user

Quick One-off

From £5 - £1,000

Monthly

From £3 per month

Paypal Users Only - Choose amount first

Quick One-off

Monthly

We want to do the best possible job for our fishermen. The more time and effort we can put in, the more compelling will be the case. We very much hope that our patriotically-minded readership will rise to the challenge, as you have done many times before!

Brexit Facts4EU.Org,Tues 18 Mar 2025

Click here to go to our news headlines

And please scroll down to COMMENT on the above article.

Something to say about this? Scroll down for reader comments

Since before the EU Referendum, Brexit Facts4EU.Org
has been the most prolific researcher and publisher of Brexit facts in the world.

Supported by MPs, MEPs, & other groups, our work has impact.

We think facts matter. Please donate today, so that we can continue to ensure a clean Brexit is finally delivered.

Any credit card user

Quick One-off

From £5 - £1,000

Monthly

From £3 per month

Paypal Users Only - Choose amount first

Quick One-off

Monthly

PLEASE NOTE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT : You can write your comment under any existing comments below. After you have clicked to preview your comment, you MUST then click on the CAPTCHA system and send you comment, for it to be published. Thank you!

Reader Comments 22

1. barry luxton , Tuesday, March 18, 2025, 07:59:

for 40 plus years the e u commons fishery legislation has disparaged the whole of the u k's coastal communities. Following on boris sold out the u k's EEZ with his trade agreement to allow 1700 plus licences to eu boats to fish in as close as 6 mile. The 1700 plus licences were issued annually for a period of two years. Following on, this labour administration has continued with the policy to enable these e u boats to carry on as is. Worse, 70 additional licences has been granted with another 60 pending. This means that these e u boats are taking out thousands of tonnes of fish from the EEZ with nothing of note by return. The words used is it allows for equal access for u k boats to fish the e u's Common resource area. apart from the fact that the common resource area is devoid of fish. the u k boats manage to remove less than one seventh of the amount the e u boats take from the EEZ. It's thousands upon thousands of tonnes of fish. The u k fleet is made up with 75% under ten boats. so it is very clear that these boats do not travel to e u waters. They have to compete with 20m e u boats in as close as 6 mile. The disparity continues.

2. Ashley Great Britain , Tuesday, March 18, 2025, 08:17:

As part of EU membership uk waters were intentionally and destructively signed over to EU nations. Our once great fishing industry was
Traitorously given up.
The situation continues with a hostile menacing EU getting it's way, while uk politicians turn the other cheek.
-
In the 80's there was a fishmongers in every town and village, you could get great fish landed that day at a good price. Now they are very far and few between. Most fish on sale is at least three days old, often frozen and sold to us from the EU. It's utter madness.
-
Uk fishing should be rebuilding at pace with government help and money saved from immigrant welfare and over seas aid. Sort your country out first!
-
Any EU boats wishing to fish should be charged a high price for limited licences. All EU catches in uk waters MUST be landed at UK ports for processing.
If the EU don't want that, then they won't fish uk waters.
As with illegal immigration,
There is no uk political will to deal with the problem.
Labour and Conservatives WILL NOT fix this.
The only party that will is Reform UK, they will actually turn it around and work only for the benefit of uk fishing. Exactly as it should be.

3. Ashley Great Britain , Tuesday, March 18, 2025, 08:27:

Forgot to mention, if you need some proof of EU scheming and hostility.
In the last 30 years the EU used uk tax payers money to pay off uk fisherman and get them to burn their boats! "Go on take the money, there's no future in fishing anymore for you"
As the uk fleet diminished the EU got stronger and gained further rights to fish uk waters. All under the grinning watch of labour/cons.
As with all things EU, it was all by design with corrupt uk assistance with a smile.

4. Sparky , Tuesday, March 18, 2025, 12:46:

At the time of the 2016 referendum I could see the logic of leaving the EU but it was clear to me that the UK would be better off staying in the EU. Another consideration was that the Vote Leave campaign was being over simplified, underestimated, based on slogans and had little or no detail as how the grand dreams would be achieved. And then was whether the likes of Johnson and Gove were the right people to follow, clearly not.
.
There is strong support for Reform on Facts4EU, just a reminder that on 28 November last year there was a debate in the commons on the future of UK fishing. Not one of the 5 (now 4) Reform MP's attended the debate. I assume they were still in the USA supporting Trump.

5. KB , Tuesday, March 18, 2025, 12:50:

Nobody in Britain eats sole, mackerel or herrings. It's a fringe activity at best.
If UK boats landed them, they would not be able to sell them into the EU before they had gone off, due to trade bureaucracy.
This is the argument I'm afraid.

6. LuxuryBalloon , Tuesday, March 18, 2025, 14:26:

After Brexit, people have started to realise that blaming the EU for the decline of our fishing industry was somewhat misplaced: major causes of the decline (overfishing that started since 1880’s, the Cod Wars, the fact that 80% of our fishing quotas were held by foreign fisheries or wealthy families, and that, unlike many European countries, the UK allowed fishing licences to become tradable commodities) were either pre-EU or within UK control even during EU membership.

7. LuxuryBalloon , Tuesday, March 18, 2025, 14:38:

This Facts4EU article does also not address the issue that earnings for UK fishermen have been stagnant for the last 20 years … while living costs in coastal communities have increased substantially.
This means that increasingly young people cannot afford to live in the areas where the boats are, and few can afford to start a family or buy a house while staying on as a permanent fishing crew member.

8. Ashley Great Britain , Tuesday, March 18, 2025, 15:33:

7 lux balloon.
-
That sort of adds to my points above.

9. terence patrick hewett , Tuesday, March 18, 2025, 15:47:

@KB
Ever heard of kippers? Anyone who eats fish, eats sole, mackerel and herring. And there's millions of fish eaters. I have have never heard such cobblers anywhere.

10. gazzablack , Tuesday, March 18, 2025, 16:01:

In 2019, British Fishermen were allowed to catch 622,000 tonnes of fish from British waters.
In 2024, after leaving the EU? Over 750,000 tonnes.

22 comments, page 1 of 3

Add comment:

Please note: Your email address is never published unless you choose to enter it.