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Furious British fishermen have savaged the huge Dutch trawlers that have depleted their fishing stock in the southeast of England. Fisherman Wink Walpole told Al Jazeera that the daily catch for the typical fishermen in the area had plummeted by more than 80 percent due to the influx of EU vessels. Al Jazeera’s Laurence Lee said that UK fishermen in the south-east of England have a “big problem” when it comes to their job.

He said: “The far larger Dutch trawlers not only steal into British waters but use techniques like the mass electrocution of fish to take the lion share.”

Walpole told Al Jazeera: “We should be able to fish on our doorstep and we always have done.

“Our boats should typically be fishing for 25 – 30 stone this time of year.

“Last night my friend went out and made up about 6 stone.”

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He added: “And people wonder why our industry is falling apart.”

This comes amid increasing furore over the Brexit fishing talks.

Earlier this week, an Irish industry group warned that a no deal Brexit could result in the loss of up to 5,000 jobs in the fisheries sector

The Killybegs Fishermen’s Association said many of the jobs would be lost in coastal communities, which are highly dependent on the sector.

Irish industry experts fear “chaos at sea,” since EU vessels may move into waters off the Irish coast following Brexit.

Ciaran Doherty, a fisherman in Donegal, said he could lose up to 60 to 70 percent of the waters he fishes if there was no deal.

He added that if access to British waters was lost, “it closes our industry”.

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France is also concerned about losing access to British waters, as French European affairs minister Clement Beaune vowed to be “intransigent” on the issue.

He said on Wednesday that his country will continue to defend the interests of French fishermen in Brexit talks.

Mr Beaune added: “We will not accept a deal at any price.”

He warned Britain that France is not “intimidated” by threats to walk away from the Brexit talks.

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