Involvement of fishing professionals in the implementation of the Brexit agreement

Priority question for written answer  P-001330/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Geoffroy Didier (PPE)

When the Brexit agreement was announced on 24 December 2020, the majority of French professional fishers expressed their relief. A no-deal would have posed a significant threat to this sector.

However, fishers in the Hauts-de-France region still have grave concerns regarding their profession. Their concerns are numerous: the lack of visibility concerning total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas; the delays in allocating authorisations to fish within the UK’s 6-12 mile zone; the 2012-2016 reference period for defining the quantities of species not subject to quotas; the blocking of fisheries agreements involving northern coastal states and access to Norwegian and Faroese waters; the modification of the baselines to define the 12-mile limit in UK waters; the introduction of temporary stoppages and fleet exit schemes which are still pending.

Fishers in the Hauts-de-France region share many legitimate concerns about their production capacity and, more generally, about the future of their sector.

How does the Commission plan to involve professionals in the implementation of the agreement of 24 December 2020 with a view to addressing their issues?