Welcome to Through the Gaps, the UK fishing industry's most comprehensive information and image resource. Newlyn is England's largest fish market and where over 50 species are regularly landed from handline, trawl, net, ring net and pot vessels including #MSC Certified #Hake, #Cornish Sardine, handlined bass, pollack and mackerel. Art work, graphics and digital fishing industry images available from stock or on commission.
One Tory MP has questioned whether Theresa May has the 'guts and resolve' to get Brexit right - courtesy of the Breakfast Programme, Radio Cornwall.
St Ives MP Derek Thomas believes the biggest challenge lying ahead as the UK enters the last 12 months before it leaves the European Union in March 2019 will be to get fishing rights sorted. Speaking to BBC Radio Cornwall, the West Cornwall MP said the biggest hurdle to getting Brexit right was to support fishing fleets and communities around the UK, including of course in Cornwall which is home to one of the biggest fishing ports in England.
However he wondered if the Government was going about it the right way.
He said: "The work of setting up deals is well under way and there are deals being done around the world for when we leave, but the real challenge for us is that fishermen are understood and the way the government recognises that challenge and work in their interest.
"I share the fishermen's disappointment at the status quo over the next 21 months and the transition period. Brussels wants to keep the current quotas arrangements and wants to guarantee access to UK waters. That's not the Government's position and certainly not what the fishermen want.
"But it's not clear yet that the Government has the guts and the resolve to deliver for fishermen."
When pushed further on criticising his own side, he added: "I simply wonder if they have the guts and resolve."
Camborne MP and Fisheries Minister George Eustace, Newlyn Harbour Commissioner Kevin Bennets and Derek Thomas MP for St Ives, Penzance and Newlyn.
Mr Thomas, whose constituency includes Newlyn fishing port, said he has been hard at work with other Cornish MPs and MPs from Scotland and Northern Ireland to see that fishermen do not end up with a raw deal.
Newlyn Harbour. The town's fish market secured £1.3m from the EU this summer to become best in South West
He said: "I work extremely hard right now because there is a real opportunity for UK fishing and for UK Plc but at the moment it looks like there is very little clarity about where we are going at the moment."
Mr Thomas said Edward Heath gave fishing away in return for 'other stuff' and that has been a concern for the entire fishing community ever since. His comments come as fishing's contribution to the UK's GDP is tiny, smaller than the pet insurance industry. He added: "The impact on our coastal industry and how we should improve our diet, it's important that we get it right.
French trawlers entering Newlyn.
"Fishing contribution is so tiny because French vessels are getting several times the amount of fish from UK waters that we've been allowed to catch."
On March 29, 2019, the UK will formally leave the EU and is due to enter a 21-month transition period before the final arrangements kick in.
The UK and EU have provisionally agreed on the three "divorce" issues of how much the UK owes the EU, what happens to the Northern Ireland border and what happens to UK citizens living elsewhere in the EU and EU citizens living in the UK. Talks are now moving on to future relations - after agreement was reached on a 21-month "transition" period to smooth the way to post-Brexit relations.
When asked to describe what Brexit means to him in three words, Derek Thomas told the radio presenter: "Getting fishing right."
It's always encouraging to see someone have a go at deconstructing the fishing industry and its management of stocks by the EU - especially when masquerading as a 10 year old. This podcast merits a watch and listen - though I'm not so sure how many in the industry would accept the premise that, NGOs "know exactly what to do". Eating a wider variety of fish is commendable and will ease the pressure on certain stocks as will talking and spreading the words about just how good eating fish is!
"Green Exchange produces new generation podcast & live shows for people who act as catalysts of change at all levels of EU communities. We deconstruct complex issues faced by our society, interview influencers and tell change stories in an engaging and entertaining way so you can have fun while staying plugged into the latest issues."
In this episode, Camille receives Member of EU Parliament Linnéa Engström to talk fish quotas, AgriFish Council meetings and governance of the commons. EU Ministers forgo moral scientific and legal obligations and that's not OK. With this simple story, they highlight a part of our EU institutions that doesn't work and discuss what we can do about it. They suggest three things you can do to help end overfishing: 1. Support NGOs working in that space (they know exactly what to do): www.our.fish www.seas-at-risk.org 2. Try the fishes that are different! Reducing the demand for most popular fishes will help balance the quotas (check out www.fishisthedish.co.uk) 3. Spread fish stories: subscribe & share! ABOUT GE LAB Green Exchange Lab is where we interview remarkable change makers and those who help shape our world via their art, mission, projects or enterprises. Through our discussions we deconstruct how change happens (or not!) in society. We talk about the future, decrypt stories and brainstorm ways we can increase positive impact on our societies and environment. We produce shows dedicated to the people behind social & environmental change. Through storytelling and investigations, we talk to those who shape the world we live in. www.greenexchange.earth Follow @greenxeurope https://twitter.com/greenxeurope