Fisherman: 'Our coastal communities have disappeared'
Britain and the EU are locking horns over the terms of their future relationship and fishing communities across Europe are on the front line. Stephen Sackur travels to Scotland and northern France to see if fishing has the potential to derail progress in trade talks that must conclude by the end of the year.
There is going to be a fight over fishing, but will it turn ugly?
The UK’s entry into the European Economic Community in the 1970s led to a large reduction in the number of fishing boats operating out of north-east Scotland, fisherman James Stephen has said.
“We were sold down the river,” he told BBC Hardtalk’s Stephen Sackur, adding that he wanted the “injustice” to be reversed.
Only a fraction of the industry remains, Mr Stephen said, explaining that the fishing fleet in north-east Scotland had gone from about 450 boats to about 100.
The UK and the European Union have begun trade talks to put in place a new framework for UK fishing waters after the transition period ends at the end of 2020.