The UK Government fumed at Brussels due to a controversial EU law which dictated that British fishermen must throw dead fish back into the sea. Under the Common Fisheries Policy, fleets governed by catch limits for certain species were not permitted to land their “by-catch” – any species of fish they have netted accidentally or which take vessels over their allocated quota. This meant that millions of edible fish were thrown back into the water, leading the Government to question the law.

The row erupted in 2011, when Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon, attending a special EU summit to address the issue, blasted the bloc and vowed to “protect fishermen’s livelihoods”.

He said: “Everybody wants to see an end to the disgraceful waste of huge amounts of fish having to be dumped back overboard, and the UK is leading the way in efforts to tackle the problem.

“I’m determined to keep pushing for reforms in Europe that prevent this waste, while fighting to protect our fishermen’s livelihoods.

“We need a new and sustainable Common Fisheries Policy which protects our seas and manages vulnerable fish stocks better while allowing our fishermen to make a living and plan for the future.”

The UK had already began devising solutions for the problem, trialling a new system which saw all fish caught count as part of the total quota.

This meant fishermen were obliged to stop fishing once their limit on tonnage had been met, not dependent on which species they had caught.

The Government claimed at the time that the new method put responsibility on fishermen to use their knowledge to fish more selective, helped to avoid waste and conserved stock.

The bemusement at EU laws led to change, as the discard practice was eventually abandoned after a public petition reached nearly 900,000 signatures.

The new EU rules were brought in from 2013, with discards phased out from 2015 until the final ban in 2016.

The EU’s laws on discarding landing became a tense talking point during campaigning for the 2016 Brexit referendum, as the Leave side using the resulting waste to Brussels’ failure.

Nigel Farage was a major critic of the Common Fisheries Policy, and continued to hit out at the agreement during the withdrawal process.

When Theresa May agreed to remain within the agreement for around 20 months after Brexit, the former Ukip leader and other leavers dumped crates of haddock into the River Thames in protest.

Mr Farage said at the time: “It’s absolutely tragic, what a waste.

“Nine percent of the haddock quota is all the UK gets from the European Union. It’s dreadful isn’t it? It absolutely breaks my heart to see that happening, but it’s happening on a massive scale all over the country. Can people please wake up?”

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The policy is still causing rows today as Prime Minister Boris Johnson clashes with the EU’s Chief Negotiator over the UK’s membership of the agreement.

Michel Barnier has demanded that the conditions of the Common Fisheries Policy be preserved if the UK wants access to European markets.

He said: “Let me remind you that most of the British processed fisheries products are traded, are exported, are sent to us, to the European market.

“So fisheries is part of a package as regards our trade relations, which are to be discussed, and that package is one you can’t break up. There will be no ambiguity at all around that.”

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