Boris Johnson ‘sacrificed fishing industry’ says June Mummery

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UK industry chiefs claims British fishermen have access to less fishing quotas than they did before Brexit, sparking a backlash over the Brexit trade deal signed by Boris Johnson on Christmas Eve. The deal stops British skippers trading quotas with their European counterparts but allows EU boats continued access to UK waters for the next five years.

Boris made a terrible mistake giving away our fishing waters

Express.co.uk reader

By 2026, the UK will have the right to completely exclude EU boats but Brussels could retaliate by imposing harsh taxes on exports of British fish or even deny UK boats access to European waters.

But an exclusive Express.co.uk poll suggests fed-up Brits want the Government to rip up the deal and introduce an immediate ban.

A staggering 98 percent (5,301 people) said the talks should be brought forward and EU fishermen barred from British waters.

Just 2 percent (84 people) disagreed and 20 people said they didn’t know.

A total of 5,405 people took part in the online poll which ran between 2.30pm and 9.30pm on Saturday March 6 2021.

One reader said: “Why wait? The Withdrawal Agreement hasn’t been ratified by the EU so it’s no more than a heads of terms and carries very little weight.

“I think we should just give them notice that we have withdrawn from the agreement and leave of WTO rules.”

Another said: “Boris made a terrible mistake giving away our fishing waters.

“We didn’t go through four years of hell after the referendum only to sacrifice our resources.

“WTO would have been much better than tying our hands. Boris must fix this mistake.”

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Another reader said: “The EU is 100 percent against us and doing everything they can to hold us back but want our waters.

“Kick them out now and wait for them to come crawling to us.”

And another said: “Of course we should ban the EU trawlers until the EU come to their senses and allow free trade.

“Either the UK made a big mistake during the negotiations with ‘Barnacle’ or they have a cunning plan. I suspect the former.”

Fishing was one of the main sticking points during negotiations with the EU last year.

Regaining control over British waters was a key part of the Leave campaign during the 2016 referendum.

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After securing a trade deal with the EU in December, the Prime Minister has handed over £23m to the fishing industry as compensation for the “eye-watering” red tape.

But he has been warned he could face an electoral backlash in fishing communities if trust is not restored with fishermen over the new deal.

The former Brexit Party MEP Ben Habib said Mr Johnson must rectify issues around fishing within the deal.

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