The government promises to help the fishing industry face the consequences of Brexit.
The day after the announcement of an agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union, the Ministry of the Sea announced the establishment of a flat-rate aid of up to 30,000 euros for fishermen and wholesalers, "
depending on their dependence on products caught in UK waters
”.
This aid is part of a “
comprehensive
” support plan which will be presented “
very soon
” by the Minister of the Sea, Annick Girardin.
Read also: Brexit: the details of the new relationship between the United Kingdom and Europe
The agreement signed
in extremis
by the United Kingdom and the EU on Thursday 24 December provides for leaving European fishermen access to British waters for a transitional period of 5 and a half years, until June 2026. During this transition, the The EU will have to gradually give up 25% of its catch, which is worth around 650 million euros per year.
Access to British waters will then be renegotiated annually.
Negotiations will start with the United Kingdom from January 1 to negotiate quotas for shared stocks.
Help for retraining
In addition to a flat-rate aid, the ministry plans to support the sector by compensating, over a limited period, part of the losses in turnover of companies dependent on British waters.
Medium- and long-term measures include the extension of long-term partial activity for employees of companies dependent on British waters, restructuring aid under the company's job protection plan or again the possibility of "
validating the acquired experience or retraining in the maritime sector
".
Investment aid within the framework of the recovery plan and the future European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) is also planned.
In addition, for vessels dependent on British waters which would like to stop their activity, a “
fleet exit plan
” will be put in place.
"This agreement preserves fishing for the moment"
With this support plan, the government hopes to alleviate the anger of the fishermen, who believe they are the big losers in this agreement.
They deplore a lack of visibility for their sector when no timetable has been set for the transition period and the conditions of access to British waters will have to be renegotiated each year.
Read also: Brexit: EU fishermen believe they are in the dark
In a joint press release, the presidents of the Brittany and Normandy region, Loïg Chesnais-Girard and Hervé Morin, nevertheless call on them to see the glass half full.
According to them, this agreement "
preserves
" their interests and will prevent them from remaining docked on January 2.
"
Brexit will remain a bad adventure for Europe but this agreement preserves for the moment fishing, a major activity in our regions (...) The worst would have been a Brexit without an agreement
", they recall.
“
Access to water as well as the balances found until June 2026 preserve the interests of our regions and the sustainability of our fleets and our sectors,
” said Hervé Morin and Loïg Chesnais-Girard.
However, the two regional presidents believe that it will be necessary "to
move forward and analyze precisely the impacts of this agreement, for fishing, for the sector, and in particular the issue of reciprocity
".
The conditions under which British fishermen will have access to French territorial waters will be essential "
so that the non-quota resource is preserved (for example the scallop),
" they say.
The two region presidents also called for "
respect for the agreement of the Bay of Granville for access to the Channel Islands
", which is, according to them, "
of paramount importance for French fishermen
".
While waiting to see more clearly, Brussels has, like the French government, informed European fishermen that it would be at “
their side
” to support them during the transition period.
"
This agreement will require efforts, I know, but the EU will be present alongside European fishermen to support them, this is our commitment
", promised the European negotiator, Michel Barnier.
