“Conservatives begin the sell out of the British fishing industry.”
Published Aug 02, 2017
Mike Hookem MEP, UKIP Fisheries spokesman, blasts Gove for claiming
Danish fishermen will still be able to catch large amounts of fish in British
waters, even if the British leave the EU
He accused Michael Gove of “beginning the sell out” of the British
fishing industry and “showing his true colours”, after the Danish newspaper,
Finans, reported the Environment Minister had suggested “Danish fishermen will
still be able to catch large amounts of fish in British waters, even if the
British leave the EU.”
Michael Gove is also reported to have told representatives of the Danish
food industry that “Britain has no fish cutters and production facilities enough
to catch all the fish in British waters. [sic]”
Mr Hookem, UKIP’s fisheries spokesman, blasted the comments saying,
“Gove’s comments prove the Conservatives are not serious about regaining our
fishing grounds and are instead looking to barter them away around Europe in
return for Brexit concessions.
“As in Edward Heath’s day, the Conservatives are doing nothing more than
stringing the British fishing industry along with vague promises, when it is
obvious they fully intend to sell Britain’s rich fishing rights back to the EU
post-Brexit.
Speaking from his home city of Hull, Mr Hookem continued, “The second
betrayal of the fishing industry has been on the cards since the Conservative’s
failed to mention reclaiming our 200-mile fishing limit in their manifesto. The
200 mile EEZ was a crucial demand of those who fought for Brexit and is
something we are entitled to under international law.
“The fact that Gove is now openly telling EU fishing nations that they
will still have access to British waters post-Brexit proves a second
Conservative betrayal of the British fishing industry is all but
inevitable.
“It does not matter a damn that the British fishing industry may not currently have the capacity to process all the fish caught in British waters. This is nothing more than an excuse!
“With firm commitments from the Government and the inclusion of
legislation in the new Fisheries Bill that demands all fish caught in British
waters are landing here; entrepreneurs within the fishing industry would find
the investment and open new facilities to match the increased demand.
“Not only would this move bring large amounts of revenue into the UK, but
it would also help to kick start the regeneration and bring much needed jobs to
many struggling coastal communities.
“However, who is going to start investing when there is still so much
uncertainty? Michael Gove and the Government need to take positive steps to show
they are committed to reclaiming our waters, our fishing and our fishing
industry, rather than making vague promises on one side, yet making the opposite
promise on the other.
"However, the problem is that the Conservatives neither understand or
care about the fishing industry and see it as nothing more than a bargaining
chip to be used at their leisure.”
