Commenting
on today’s reports that Ministers will trigger exit from the London Fisheries
Convention, shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Sue Hayman MP, said:

“Labour
opposes a hard Brexit that would jeopardise jobs, environmental sustainability
and the future prosperity of the British fishing industry. 

“The
London Convention predates British membership of the EU by a decade and has
arguably been superseded by the Common Fisheries Policy which the UK will
withdraw from automatically following our leaving the EU.

“Given
that the majority of fish caught by UK vessels are within the Atlantic (fishing
area 27) which includes the edge of Greenland to North Russia and as far south
as the bottom of Spain/Portugal, it is vital that any Brexit deal does not
jeopardise access to these waters for our British fishing fleet.

“This
provocative decision at this stage of the negotiations puts at risk those
necessary and far more valuable fisheries management arrangements we will need
to agree on leaving the EU as well as a tariff free trade deal so vital to our
British fishing exports. It is another example of the Tories’ reckless approach
to Brexit.”