A Fishermans Truth by Georgia Leggott

A FISHERMANS TRUTH.

Along the coast, in the picturesque Cornish fishing village of Mevagissey, Andrew Trevarton, a fisherman for 37 years, hasn’t been out to sea for two weeks because of atrocious weather. Nevertheless, Trevarton is feeling cautiously optimistic about the future. “You have to be an optimist to go fishing in the first place,” he said. In 2016, Trevarton and Watson voted for Brexit, along with the vast majority of UK fishermen. The image of rugged men in sea-slicked oilskins braving weather and waves to put food on the island nation’s plates was a powerful emotional factor in the case for leaving the EU. After decades of battling over Brussels-set quotas, which allow European fleets to take a lion’s share of fish from waters around the UK, the idea of taking back control was irresistible. Although the industry is a tiny part of the UK economy – worth less than 0.1% of the total in 2018 – it has become emblematic of a plucky, independent Britain, freed from the shackles of restrictions and regulations set by other people in other places, forging its own way in the world. Much, therefore, is riding on trade talks that are due to begin at the start of March. According to Nigel Farage, fishing will be the “acid test” of Brexit. Boris Johnson reinforced this view in a key speech on EU trade negotiations earlier this month. Any agreement must ensure that “British fishing grounds are first and foremost for British boats”, said the prime minister, who visited Brixham last summer to meet fishermen and sample hake and chips on the quayside. The timetable is extremely tight, with the EU saying that an agreement on fishing must be reached by the end of July, and the talks will be tough. A fishing deal is a precondition to a wider trade agreement, the EU has said – and some European politicians and officials have suggested that Britain’s access to the EU’s lucrative financial services markets could depend on EU

fleets being allowed to continue to fish in UK waters on the same basis as now. At the heart of the talks are issues of access and quotas. Under the EU’s common fisheries policy (CFP), all member states have equal access to EU waters apart from the first 12 nautical miles from the coast. At the end of this year, the UK will become an independent coastal state, operating under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea rather than the CFP. As such, Britain will have control over an “exclusive economic zone” up to 200 nautical miles off its shores – some of the most bountiful seas in the world. Quotas are set for fish species in Brussels each year following scientific advice about the levels of stocks, and are allocated to member states on the basis of historic practice. Currently, EU boats are entitled to more than 60% of overall landings by weight from the seas around the UK, and for some species the proportion is greater. For example, the UK is allocated 9% of Channel cod, while the French get 84%. From next year, quota shares will be negotiated rather than decided in Brussels. Mevagissey harbour in Cornwall. Mevagissey harbour in Cornwall. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Expectations among British fishermen are high, but history has taught them to be wary. In Mevagissey, memories of what happened in the 1970s when Ted Heath was negotiating the UK’s entry into the European common market are part of local folklore. “We were traded off, basically thrown to the wall, sacrificed for other sectors,” said Trevarton. Rodney Ingram, 75, who fishes inshore from a 20ft boat after a working life on and off the sea, said: “We were sold down the line, used as a bargaining chip. We gave [the Europeans] everything they wanted.” Almost half a century later, they want redress. “We’re hoping politicians will recognise the great injustice done to the industry back then. We believe this is a once-in-a-

lifetime opportunity to put it right,” said Trevarton. He and Ingram were at pains to stress that they were not looking for European boats to be excluded from UK waters, pointing out that the UK fishing fleet doesn’t have the capacity to land the entire permitted quotas. But, they say, they want the cake divided up more fairly. Trevarton, who is chairman of the Mevagissey Fisherman’s Association, listed their objectives: control over UK waters, a greater quota share, priority for UK vessels in inshore waters, and a management structure combining industry representatives and scientific experts. Rod Ingram in front of his boat Petrel, in Mevagissey. Rod Ingram in front of his boat Petrel, in Mevagissey. Photograph: South West Handline Fisherman’s Asociation Another point of contention is the EU’s demand that any deal negotiated between March and July is permanent. Britain wants annual talks. “An annual agreement allows you to be active and nimble,” said Jim Portus, of the South Western Fish Producers’ Organisation. “It can reflect the movement and biology of fish, the needs and aspirations of fishermen, and bend and sway with fisheries science. The CFP had enormous fault lines running through it, but it was only amendable after 10 years.” Norway had been negotiating annually with the EU for 40 years, he pointed out. Taking fish out of the sea is only part of the overall picture. About three-quarters of the seafood landed by UK fishermen is sold to EU countries – a trade reliant on being fast and frictionless. Brexit is likely to mean more customs delays and inspections – and if Britain restricts access to UK waters, the EU could impose tariffs on British exports. JeanYves Le Drian, the French minister of Europe and foreign affairs, warned last week that if European boats were barred from UK waters, France would press for British trawlers to be

prevented from selling their catches on the continent. Some British fishermen fear their militant French counterparts could simply take direct action to prevent fish landed in the UK being brought into French ports. Barrie Deas of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) said he fully expected blockades. “French fishermen have done it for much less. I would imagine there will be disruption.” There is a long history of fishing skirmishes, most recently between the UK and France over scallops in 2018. But, unlike the French, “we aren’t naturally a confrontational society,” said Trevarton. In an indication that such concerns are being taken seriously, it was reported this month that Britain has recently beefed up the Royal Navy’s Fisheries Protection Squadron with two extra ships, two aerial surveillance aircraft and 35 extra enforcement officers to police UK waters. A further 22 ships will be on standby. A fishing boat in Devon’s Brixham harbour in 2018. A fishing boat in Devon’s Brixham harbour in 2018. Photograph: Robin Millard/AFP Some argue that the fishing industry has distorted perceptions by depicting itself as beleaguered and struggling – a strategy that has allowed it to punch above its weight. Chris Davies, a former Lib Dem MEP and chair of the European parliament’s fisheries committee, said there was a national myth of a “small fishing boat with a couple of guys on board, going out from a little Cornish harbour at dawn and returning at sunset”. In reality, the UK fleet is dominated by a small number of big players, some of them foreign-owned. Seven companies hold 51% of the UK’s fishing quota, and 27 trawlers working from Scottish ports bring in half the UK’s total weight in landings. Net profit in the large-scale fleet increased by 47% to €268m between 2015 and 2016, according to the most recent EU report. “Who

Along the coast, in the pictuWe believe this is a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity to put it right,” said Trevarton. He and Ingram were at pains to stress that they were not looking for European boats to be excluded from UK waters, pointing out that the UK fishing fleet doesn’t have the capacity to land the entire permitted quotas. But, they say, they want the cake divided up more fairly. Trevarton, who is chairman of the Mevagissey Fisherman’s Association, listed their objectives: control over UK waters, a greater quota share, priority for UK vessels in inshore waters, and a management structure combining industry representatives and scientific experts. Rod Ingram in front of his boat Petrel, in Mevagissey. Rod Ingram in front of his boat Petrel, in Mevagissey. Photograph: South West Handline Fisherman’s Asociation Another point of contention is the EU’s demand that any deal negotiated between March and July is permanent. Britain wants annual talks. “An annual agreement allows you to be active and nimble,” said Jim Portus, of the South Western Fish Producers’ Organisation. “It can reflect the movement and biology of fish, the needs and aspirations of fishermen, and bend and sway with fisheries science. The CFP had enormous fault lines running through it, but it was only amendable after 10 years.” Norway had been negotiating annually with the EU for 40 years, he pointed out. Taking fish out of the sea is only part of the overall picture. About three-quarters of the seafood landed by UK fishermen is sold to EU countries – a trade reliant on being fast and frictionless. Brexit is likely to mean more customs delays and inspections – and if Britain restricts access to UK waters, the EU could impose tariffs on British exports. JeanYves Le Drian, the French minister of Europe and foreign affairs, warned last week that if European boats were barred

from UK waters, France would press for British trawlers to be prevented from selling their catches on the continent. Some British fishermen fear their militant French counterparts could simply take direct action to prevent fish landed in the UK being brought into French ports. Barrie Deas of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) said he fully expected blockades. “French fishermen have done it for much less. I would imagine there will be disruption.” There is a long history of fishing skirmishes, most recently between the UK and France over scallops in 2018. But, unlike the French, “we aren’t naturally a confrontational society,” said Trevarton. In an indication that such concerns are being taken seriously, it was reported this month that Britain has recently beefed up the Royal Navy’s Fisheries Protection Squadron with two extra ships, two aerial surveillance aircraft and 35 extra enforcement officers to police UK waters. A further 22 ships will be on standby. A fishing boat in Devon’s Brixham harbour in 2018. A fishing boat in Devon’s Brixham harbour in 2018. Photograph: Robin Millard/AFP Some argue that the fishing industry has distorted perceptions by depicting itself as beleaguered and struggling – a strategy that has allowed it to punch above its weight. Chris Davies, a former Lib Dem MEP and chair of the European parliament’s fisheries committee, said there was a national myth of a “small fishing boat with a couple of guys on board, going out from a little Cornish harbour at dawn and returning at sunset”.

and 2016, according to the There will be winners, and most recent EU report. “Who there will be lesser winners.” is going to benefit from Brexit? The real beneficiaries will be the big guys,” said Davies. On the quaysides of Devon and Cornwall, alongside hope there Quotas were treated as property is a deep mistrust of politicians. rights to be bought and sold. At Brixham fish market last In England, more than half the week, as boxes of sole, monkfish, quota has ended up in foreign plaice, brill and scallops were hands. Plus, Davies said, the auctioned, loaded with ice distribution of the UK quota was and packed on to lorries, Neil decided in London, not Brussels. Watson said the prime minister “Large-scale vessels get 95-96% had “promised the earth” on his of the quota. The government visit to the harbour last year. could take some of the quota “I’m hoping Boris will be strong, away from the big companies, but we know there could be a and give the smaller guys a slap around the ear coming.” bigger slice of the cake.” That would benefit the “left-behind In Mevagissey, Andrew coastal communities” that Boris Trevarton was also worried Johnson has promised to help. about being “sold down the line “But the powerful voices in the again”. He said: “The biggest fear industry are the big companies. within our industry is that the The guy who’s a part-time government will buckle under fisherman in Cornwall is EU pressure and maintain the not in a position to put status quo. I hope that anything pressure on the government.” that comes from negotiations will be an improvement on Rather than focusing on what we have now. After all, who catches the fish, the key could it be any worse? But it question was how many fish means putting our faith in there are to be caught, Davies politicians to push this through, said. “The industry and the and that’s always risky.” government should make the strongest commitment The 70 registered fishing boats in to sustainability. The last 10 Mevagissey’s harbour belonged years have been pretty good – to local family businesses, he stocks are stable and in some said. “This place absolutely cases increasing. The most relies on a vibrant fishing important thing is not to go industry. Our tourism is built back to the days of overfishing.” on the back of fishing – people come to see a working harbour.” For the NFFO, fishing as a symbol of British sovereignty Mevagissey is unusual in the is welcome. “I don’t think relatively high number of young fishing has ever been stronger men entering the industry. politically,” said Deas. “The Trevarton, whose 30-year-old idea that past wrongs need to son is also a fisherman, said: be righted is powerful. I think “I want our industry to thrive, it would be extremely difficult and our fishing stocks to be for the government to come sustainable. My son has a long back from talks with fishing working life ahead of him. I having been sold out again.” want a future for him and the other young men of this village.” He added: “We may not know Batque que es ariteru derbit the full implications of Brexit virmandius sulvivivis es for years, or decades. But by the andium probus? Ahac videst end of 2020, we’ll know if fishing vit; num a nitimum test ia? has a more positive future.” Ocupiocum, urenis? Atristis sum ta inatqua menit, perum Nevertheless, any Brexit am menihi, nosulostor dividend would not be enjoyed lostandeesi inamentem equally across the sector, sperenteme alis bonsupio, niu he conceded. “It will vary que hocam quemove rrissidem by area, by fleet, by fishery. deesuli ciptimulin stam actored

A FISHERMAN TRUTH: WHAT THEY EXPECT

In reality, the UK fleet is dominated by a small number of big players, some of them foreign-owned. Seven companies hold 51% of the UK’s fishing quota, and 27 trawlers working from Scottish ports bring in half the UK’s total weight in landings. Net profit in the large-scale fleet increased by 47% to €268m between 2015

fleets being allowed to continue lifetime opportunity to put it prevented from selling their to fish in UK waters on the same right,” said Trevarton. catches on the continent. basis as now. He and Ingram were at Some British fishermen At the heart of the talks pains to stress that they were fear their militant French are issues of access and quotas. not looking for European boats counterparts could simply take Under the EU’s common fisheries to be excluded from UK waters, direct action to prevent fish policy (CFP), all member states pointing out that the UK fishing landed in the UK being brought have equal access to EU waters fleet doesn’t have the capacity into French ports. Barrie Deas apart from the first 12 nautical to land the entire permitted of the National Federation of miles from the coast. At the quotas. But, they say, they want Fishermen’s Organisations end of this year, the UK will the cake divided up more fairly. (NFFO) said he fully expected become an independent coastal Trevarton, who is blockades. “French fishermen state, operating under the UN chairman of the Mevagissey have done it for much less. I Convention on the Law of the Fisherman’s Association, listed would imagine there will be Sea rather than the CFP. As such, their objectives: control over UK disruption.” There is a long Britain will have control over an waters, a greater quota share, history of fishing skirmishes, “exclusive economic zone” up to priority for UK vessels in inshore most recently between the UK 200 nautical miles off its shores waters, and a management and France over scallops in 2018. – some of the most bountiful structure combining industry But, unlike the French, “we aren’t seas in the world. representatives and scientific naturally a confrontational Quotas are set for fish experts. society,” said Trevarton. species Brussels each year Ingram membership in front of his an indication that Of all ofinthe industries affected byRod Britain’s of theInEU, following scientific advice boat Petrel, in Mevagissey. such concerns are being taken fishing one of most TheinCommon Policy, about theislevels of the stocks, andsignificant. Rod Ingram front of Fisheries his seriously, it was reported this are allocated to member states boat Petrel, in Mevagissey. month that Britain has recently which governs where fleets can fish in the EU and sets quotas to on the basis of historic practice. Photograph: South West beefed up the Royal Navy’s Currently, EU boats are entitled Handline Fisherman’s Fisheries Protection Squadron conserve fish stocks, is known for being incredibly unpopular. And to more than 60% of overall Asociation with two extra ships, two aerial our recent shows that this translates to a near landings by polling weight from the Another point of contention is unanimous surveillance aircraft and 35 seas around the UK, and for the EU’s demand that any deal extra enforcement officers to desire among British fishermen to leave the EU. some species the proportion negotiated between March police UK waters. A further 22 is greater. For example, UK and is permanent. Britain ships will be on standby. To date, most of the the evidence ofJuly feeling within the fishing industry is allocated 9% of Channel cod, wants annual talks. A fishing boat in Devon’s has been anecdotal. It has been widely known that many in the UK while the French get 84%. From “An annual agreement Brixham harbour in 2018. next year, quota shares will be allows you to be active and A fishing boat in Devon’s fishing industry, particularly skippers and boat owners, are highly negotiated rather than decided nimble,” said Jim Portus, of the Brixham harbour in 2018. in Brussels. South Western Fish Producers’ Photograph: Robin Millard/AFP critical of the CFP. And, in May 2016, a campaign group called Mevagissey harbour in Organisation. “It can reflect the Some argue that the fishing Fishing Leave was founded, whichand aims to withdraw from the has Cornwall.for Mevagissey harbour movement biology of fish, industry distorted in Cornwall. Photograph: Matt the needs and aspirations of perceptions by depicting itself EU to restore national control over fishing within British waters. Cardy/Getty fishermen, and bend and sway as beleaguered and struggling Expectations among British fisheries campaigning science. The to – aremain strategyinthat has allowed There is no organised groupwith of fishermen fishermen are high, but history CFP had enormous fault lines it to punch above its weight. the EU. them to be wary. In running through it, but it was Chris Davies, a former Lib has taught Mevagissey, memories of what only amendable after 10 years.” Dem MEP and chair of the To understand the extent to which skippers and boat owners happened in the 1970s when Norway had been negotiating European parliament’s fisheries Ted Heath was negotiating the Conversation’ annually with the EU some for 40 questions committee,insaid there was a favour leaving the EU, ‘The asked UK’s entry into the European years, he pointed out. national myth of a “small fishing May andmarket June 2016 usingofFishermen’s andboat Producer common are part TakingAssociations fish out of the with a couple of guys on local folklore. “We were traded sea is only part of the overall board, going out from a little Organisations to contact their members across the UK in the off, basically thrown to the wall, picture. About three-quarters Cornish harbour at dawn and sacrificedto for sectors,” of the on seafood landed of by the returning run-up the other country’s referendum membership EU. at sunset”. said Trevarton. UK fishermen is sold to EU With current polls showing that there– is a fairly evenonsplit Rodney Ingram, 75, who countries a trade reliant In among reality, the UK fleet is fishes inshore from a 20ft boat being fast and frictionless. dominated by a small number the general population between those wishing to remain and leave, after a working life on and off the Brexit is likely to mean more of big players, some of sea, said: “Weno were sold down customs delays andAs inspections themintend foreign-owned. Seven they found such split among fishermen. many as 92% the line, used as a bargaining – and if Britain restricts access to companies hold 51% of the UK’s to vote leave EU – a uniformity of opinion is unmatched chip. Weto gave [thethe Europeans] UK waters, the EU could that impose fishing quota, and 27 trawlers everything they wanted.” tariffs on British exports. Jean- working from Scottish ports by any other economic or social group in the UK. Almost half a century Yves Le Drian, the French bring in half the UK’s total later, they want redress. minister of Europe and foreign weight in landings. Net profit in “We’re hoping politicians will affairs, warned last week that the large-scale fleet increased recognise the great injustice if European boats were barred by 47% to €268m between 2015 done to the industry back then. from UK waters, France would and 2016, according to the We believe this is a once-in-a- press for British trawlers to be most recent EU report. “Who

NS AT DID T?

% RESPONSE TO THE QUESTION: ‘HOW DO YOU THINK YOU WILL VOTE IN THE REFERENDUM ON THE UK’S MEMBERSHIP OF THE EUROPEAN UNION?’

NINTY TWO PERCENT SAID THEY WILL VOTE LEAVE IN THE EU REFERENDUM

being allowed to continue lifetime opportunity to put it % RESPONSE TOfleets THE ‘INsaidYOUR to fish in UKQUESTION: waters on the same right,” Trevarton. basis as now. He and Ingram were at OPINION, HOW WOULD THE UK pains LEAVING At the heart of the talks to stress thatTHE they were are issues of access and quotas. not looking for European boats the EU’s common fisheries to be excluded from UK waters, EU AFFECT THE Under UK FISHING INDUSTRY?’ policy (CFP), all member states pointing out that the UK fishing

have equal access to EU waters apart from the first 12 nautical miles from the coast. At the end of this year, the UK will become an independent coastal state, operating under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea rather than the CFP. As such, Britain will have control over an “exclusive economic zone” up to 200 nautical miles off its shores – some of the most bountiful seas in the world. Quotas are set for fish species in Brussels each year following scientific advice about the levels of stocks, and are allocated to member states on the basis of historic practice. Currently, EU boats are entitled to more than 60% of overall landings by weight from the seas around the UK, and for some species the proportion is greater. For example, the UK is allocated 9% of Channel cod, while the French get 84%. From next year, quota shares will be negotiated rather than decided in Brussels. Mevagissey harbour in Cornwall. Mevagissey harbour in Cornwall. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Expectations among British fishermen are high, but history has taught them to be wary. In Mevagissey, memories of what happened in the 1970s when Ted Heath was negotiating the UK’s entry into the European common market are part of local folklore. “We were traded off, basically thrown to the wall, sacrificed for other sectors,” said Trevarton. Rodney Ingram, 75, who fishes inshore from a 20ft boat after a working life on and off the sea, said: “We were sold down the line, used as a bargaining chip. We gave [the Europeans] everything they wanted.” Almost half a century later, they want redress. “We’re hoping politicians will recognise the great injustice done to the industry back then. We believe this is a once-in-a-

fleet doesn’t have the capacity to land the entire permitted quotas. But, they say, they want the cake divided up more fairly. Trevarton, who is chairman of the Mevagissey Fisherman’s Association, listed their objectives: control over UK waters, a greater quota share, priority for UK vessels in inshore waters, and a management structure combining industry representatives and scientific experts. Rod Ingram in front of his boat Petrel, in Mevagissey. Rod Ingram in front of his boat Petrel, in Mevagissey. Photograph: South West Handline Fisherman’s Asociation Another point of contention is the EU’s demand that any deal negotiated between March and July is permanent. Britain wants annual talks. “An annual agreement allows you to be active and nimble,” said Jim Portus, of the South Western Fish Producers’ Organisation. “It can reflect the movement and biology of fish, the needs and aspirations of fishermen, and bend and sway with fisheries science. The CFP had enormous fault lines running through it, but it was only amendable after 10 years.” Norway had been negotiating annually with the EU for 40 years, he pointed out. Taking fish out of the sea is only part of the overall picture. About three-quarters of the seafood landed by UK fishermen is sold to EU countries – a trade reliant on being fast and frictionless. Brexit is likely to mean more customs delays and inspections – and if Britain restricts access to UK waters, the EU could impose tariffs on British exports. JeanYves Le Drian, the French minister of Europe and foreign affairs, warned last week that if European boats were barred from UK waters, France would press for British trawlers to be

FIFTY PERCENT THOUGHT LEAVING WOULD GREATLY INCREASE THE FORTUNE OF UK FISHING INDUSTRY

‘‘ WE WILL FULL CO OF OUR fleets being allowed to continue to fish in UK waters on the same basis as now. At the heart of the talks are issues of access and quotas. Under the EU’s common fisheries policy (CFP), all member states have equal access to EU waters apart from the first 12 nautical miles from the coast. At the end of this year, the UK will become an independent coastal state, operating under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea rather than the CFP. As such, Britain will have control over an “exclusive economic zone” up to 200 nautical miles off its shores – some of the most bountiful seas in the world. Quotas are set for fish species in Brussels each year following scientific advice about the levels of stocks, and are allocated to member states on the basis of historic practice. Currently, EU boats are entitled to more than 60% of overall landings by weight from the seas around the UK, and for some species the proportion is greater. For example, the UK is allocated 9% of Channel cod, while the French get 84%. From next year, quota shares will be negotiated rather than decided in Brussels. Mevagissey harbour in Cornwall. Mevagissey harbour in Cornwall. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Expectations among British fishermen are high, but history has taught them to be wary. In Mevagissey, memories of what happened in the 1970s when Ted Heath was negotiating the UK’s entry into the European common market are part of local folklore. “We were traded off, basically thrown to the wall, sacrificed for other sectors,” said Trevarton. Rodney Ingram, 75, who fishes inshore from a 20ft boat after a working life on and off the sea, said: “We were sold down the line, used as a bargaining chip. We gave [the Europeans] everything they wanted.” Almost half a century later, they want redress. “We’re hoping politicians will recognise the great injustice done to the industry back then. We believe this is a once-in-a-

L BE IN ONTROL WATER BREXIT CAMPAIGN 2015

I n 20 years’ time it will be seen as more remarkable that we joined the Common Market in 1973 than that we voted to leave the European Union in 2016. If ever there was a mismatch of intentions, needs and aspirations, it was our 47-year membership. To paraphrase Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, both sides kept asking: “Why can’t they be more like me?” This game of push-mepull-you worked well for the first 25 years, but once the single currency was created the tensions ultimately became unmanageable. The Maastricht opt-outs on the euro and the common travel area were crucial. They declared that it was no longer a “two-speed Europe”, a union with a common destination, where it would merely take some countries a bit longer to get there than others. Instead it was a Europe where some countries just had a different understanding of democracy and how they wished to be governed. The aim of the postwar settlement was to keep communism out and contain Germany while enabling it to be economically successful. Two models emerged for the way European nation states might relate to each other, given that aim. One was based entirely on trade – the European Free Trade Association (Efta); the other used trade as a means to achieve political integration – the Common Market. Once the UK had left Efta and joined the Common Market in 1973, Efta was diminished and no longer offered an effective alternative. After that, the UK’s approach to the EU depended on context. Our two biggest political parties have at times swung from being all for it to outright hostile. Margaret Thatcher embraced the creation of the single market without fully appreciating that for some it wasn’t so much about trade but about providing the foundations for a single currency. The Labour party under Neil Kinnock embraced the EU when the Jacques Delors commission delivered the social policies the

Thatcher government opposed. Tony Blair proved a fullfledged devotee. For him the rationale was geopolitical and strategic. The EU provided the UK with an opportunity to shape the world’s future. During his first term of office he vigorously made the case for the EU, created cross-cutting ministerial bodies, encouraged working with sister parties and even told ministers to go and learn foreign languages. Jacques Delors and Margaret Thatcher at No 10 in October 1984. Fa c eb o o k T w it te r P i nte re s t ‘The Jacques Delors commission delivered social policies the Thatcher government opposed.’ Jacques Delors and Margaret Thatcher at No 10 in October 1984. Photograph: AP The invasion of Iraq changed all that. The UK sided with the US, and Blair never recovered. In 2005 the British people were promised a referendum on the European constitution, although the three main parties found reasons to ditch that promise after the election. When he became prime minister, David Cameron set out not to “bang on about Europe”. Parliament no longer debated ahead of European council meetings, and the annual discussions about fisheries or agriculture disappeared too. When the in-out referendum was announced, I asked myself what it would take for me to vote remain. If the EU had acknowledged that the institutional architecture should have changed to accommodate euro countries, which required deeper political integration, and non-euro countries, which needed a looser framework, I would have said: “OK, let’s give it a try.” Not a case of British optouts, but an EU that recognises two kinds of membership: a core and a periphery. Britain originally joined a political project for economic reasons, and the remain campaign made the case for continued membership on economic grounds. But for once, it wasn’t the economy, stupid. People voted to leave

for reasons of community, identity and belonging. Our organic constitution has at its roots the principle that we vote for individuals who represent particular policies, and they operate within a set of rules that can be changed by the people via elections. These deep emotions are more powerful than money. It is wrong to ignore them, and even worse to sneer and belittle them. Compared with the bloody battles of other periods in our history, the significant upheavals of the last few years have been remarkably peaceful. One referendum, two general elections and three prime ministers later, the British people affirmed that they still meant what they said in 2016. There have been no profound ruptures in our democratic structures, and the party political system has shown remarkable resilience. As we are leaving, the EU, like us, will have to make changes to the way it works. That’s all to the good. Whatever the future holds, however, we must all remain friends, as well as Europeans This game of push-me-pull-you worked well for the first 25 years, but once the single currency was created the tensions ultimately became unmanageable. The Maastricht opt-outs on the euro and the common travel area were crucial. They declared that it was no longer a “two-speed Europe”, a union with a common destination, where it would merely take some countries a bit longer to get there than others. Instead it was a Europe where some countries just had a different understanding of democracy and how they wished to be governed. The aim of the postwar settlement was to keep communism out and contain Germany while enabling it to be economically successful. Two models emerged for the way European nation states might relate to each other, given that aim. One was based entirely on trade – the European Free Trade Association (Efta); the other used trade as a means to achieve political integration – the Common Market. Once the

UK had left Efta and joined the Common Market in 1973, Efta was diminished and no longer offered an effective alternative. After that, the UK’s approach to the EU depended on context. Our two biggest political parties have at times swung from being all for it to outright hostile. Margaret Thatcher embraced the creation of the single market without fully appreciating that for some it wasn’t so much about trade but about providing the foundations for a single currency. The Labour party under Neil Kinnock embraced the EU when the Jacques Delors commission delivered the social policies the Thatcher government opposed. Tony Blair proved a fullfledged devotee. For him the rationale was geopolitical and strategic. The EU provided the UK with an opportunity to shape the world’s future. During his first term of office he vigorously made the case for the EU, created cross-cutting ministerial bodies, encouraged working with sister parties and even told ministers to go and learn foreign languages. Jacques Delors and Margaret Thatcher at No 10 in October 1984. ‘The Jacques Delors commission delivered social policies the Thatcher government opposed.’ Jacques Delors and Margaret Thatcher at No 10 in October 1984. Photograph: AP The invasion of Iraq changed all that. The UK sided with the US, and Blair never recovered. In 2005 the British people were promised a referendum on the European constitution, although the three main parties found reasons to ditch that promise after the election. When he became prime minister, David Cameron set out not to “bang on about Europe”. Parliament no longer debated ahead of European council meetings, and the annual discussions about fisheries or agriculture disappeared too. When the in-out referendum was announced, I asked myself what it would take for me to vote remain. If the EU had acknowledged that the institutional architecture

‘WE HAVE BE In reality, the UK fleet is dominated by a small number of big players, some of them foreign-owned. Seven companies hold 51% of the UK’s fishing quota, and 27 trawlers working from Scottish ports bring in half the UK’s total weight in landings. Net profit in the large-scale fleet increased by 47% to €268m between 2015 and 2016, according to the most recent EU report. “Who

EEN LIED TO’

‘We want a better deal’: talking Brexit aboard a fishing trawler Twenty miles off the coast of Cornwall lies one of the most fiercely contested Brexit battlelines. Do UK fishermen still want out? by Sam Wollaston Photography by Antonio Olmos

Out of an apocalyptic yellow sky a

salvo of white missiles rains down, plummeting into an angry black sea. Gannets, here for a free lunch. It’s hauling time on Crystal Sea, and for any young gurnard or whiting small and determined enough to wriggle free at this stage, just before the net is lifted from the water, liberty is short-lived. The escapee is snatched, underwater, then launched rudely up into the sky where it quickly disappears, headfirst, into a seabird, accompanied by a triumphant squawk. This is not a good place to be a fish. The birds are joined by dolphins, in from the flank, five or six of them, leaping joyfully from the face of a wave. They like the company, the skipper Dave Stevens likes to think, and he likes theirs; it’s reassuring. They’re not here for a meal, though – they’re here for the show. And what a spectacle it is, all that colour and splashing and dive-bombing. It’s beautiful and thrilling, horrific and terrifying, all at the same time. What a racket, too: the avian screeching, the grinding of the trawler’s main power winch, the metallic clanking of chain and trawl doors, the howl of a south-westerly force 7. There’s a bit of human yelling, too, men trying to be heard above the elements. In the wheelhouse, Dave turns the boat through 90 degrees, so that the net moves from the back to the side. Operating the smaller winch, Latvian fisherman Girts Kraulis hoists the dripping trawl up out of the sea, a huge teardrop of fish, some with their heads poking through the holes, as if taking one last look at the world they’re leaving. Braced on the pitching deck, Girts’s countryman Robert Vimba helps to manoeuvre the net into the bag hatch. Girts lowers it to the fish deck below, where Robert’s twin brother

Edgar unties the bottom of the cod end and the catch spills out into the fish hopper. No cod today, but plenty of other fish: haddock and John Dory, plaice, sole, squid and cuttlefish (the ink from which has squirted over some of the others). The dead and the dying nearly reach the top of Edgar’s boots. A crab makes a vain dash for it, a dogfish writhes, the last pulses of life travel along the fins of the flatfish. A big monkfish yawns, opening up a vast and ancient cavern full of stalagmites and stalactites. Soon it will have its head hacked off (monkfish go to market without their heads: too ugly). Heads you lose, tails you also lose – or win, if you’re the fishermen: they like monkfish, and John Dory, which fetch a good price. Now Girts, Robert and Edgar stand in a line at a conveyor belt with their knives, gutting, sorting, discarding, chopping the wings off the rays, which will be skate when they get to the fishmonger. Dave joins them, keeping an eye on the screen which shows where they are at sea, and if there are any other vessels they are in danger of colliding with. There’s not much banter, very little chat even; they just get on with it. The fish is washed, sorted and sized, lowered further down into the refrigerated hold, where it is packed with ice in boxes and stacked. By which time the nets will have already been out again for a couple of hours, ready to haul again in another three. It’s relentless, working on a trawler.

C rystal Sea is a 20-metre twin-

rig stern trawler, one of the bigger boats operating out of Newlyn in Cornwall. Twin rig means she drags two nets, side by side. She catches a mix of fish, up to 30 different species, operating anywhere between six and 120 miles from home. In the four days I am on board – to get a Brexit

perspective from 49° 48’N, 5° 48’W and thereabouts, as well as to get some idea of what this very tough job involves – we are mainly between 10 and 20 miles from shore. At 10 years old, she is also one of the newer and better-equipped boats operating out of Newlyn. As well as all the mechanical gear a modern trawler has – winches and cranes, conveyor belts and ice-makers, the navigational equipment, GPS and radar – there’s

forward of here, through a bulkhead, the fish sleep on ice. Dave Stevens’ family, from St Ives, have been fishing for generations, Dave has been doing it for 29 years, since he was 15. Now he works the boat with his brother Alec, and they do alternate weeks. It gets harder as you get older, Dave says. A big bear of a man – all the men are big – he’s unflustered, traditional, thoughtful and softly spoken, with a gentle Cornish accent.

‘‘ FROM WH – OR TRYIN IT LOOKS B AND BLOO a washing machine. The galley has a cooker, fridge, toaster and a deep-fat fryer. There’s a telly, on, loud, all the time – Homes Under The Hammer, Bargain Hunt, Scotland-Fiji in the rugby – even though there’s no time to watch. There’s even wifi, via a satellite. If I’m making it sound comfortable, it isn’t. Crystal Sea is a working fishing boat, damp and cramped. The cabin is especially hellish, down a ladder into a hot dark smelly hole below the waterline where you have to fumble to find your bunk. At the same level but

Girts, aged 47, and the Vimba brothers, 32 (it’s hard to tell them apart when they’re in their oilskins and you can’t see Edgar’s tattoos) are from the port of Ventspils on the Baltic. They commute from Latvia to Cornwall: two months on, one off, leaving friends and family behind. Girts’s daughter joined him for a bit, got a job in a crab factory, but now she’s back home studying law. On the boat, Girts’s mood is directly proportional to both the weather and how the fishing is going. The men, including Dave, are paid on a share-of-

catch basis; on a good week, they can net a grand each. Edgar doesn’t have a family, but Robert has a wife and two kids with another on the way. She would like to come over; he’s not sure about it. He’s at sea, there’s no family to support her here – and if she went back to work, it would probably be to a crab factory, whereas in Latvia she’s got a nice office job for a fuel company. None of them know how their lives will be affected by Brexit.

A high-pressure system is expected imminently from the south, bringing fair, settled weather after 45 years of storms and poor fishing. Or this is how Brexit looks to Dave, and to the 92% of the British fishing industry who in June 2016 voted to leave the EU. (Dave can’t imagine who the 8%

yours. Voulez-vous pêcher avec moi, ce soir? It sounds like the very spirit of European unity and collaboration, but if you speak to Dave, or any other British fisherman or fisherwoman (a rare species in British waters), they’ll tell you it simply isn’t fair. Britain has some of the best fishing grounds in Europe; suddenly, after 1973, we had to share them. So we’re free to fish in their waters, too? So what, we’re not bothered – the fishing’s fine at home. The stats underline this injustice. Some 40% of Denmark’s entire catch comes from British waters (the exclusive economic zone that extends to 200-nautical miles offshore). A study by the NAFC Marine Centre at the University of the Highlands, estimates that an average of 58% of fish and shellfish caught in UK waters was landed by boats from other EU

of coastal communities around the country; because it has shaped pretty harbours (as well as less pretty ones), inspired British folklore, literature and art; and, more recently, because a proud island state losing control of its territorial waters came to encapsulate a lot of what was wrong with EU membership. Since Dave has been fishing, he’s witnessed the decline of the industry first hand. The total number of fishermen is now around 12,000, down from around 20,000 in the mid-90s. The number of fishing boats in the UK fleet has fallen by 29% since 1996. Inevitably, fishing played its part in the referendum campaign. Remember Nigel Farage coming up the Thames on a fishing boat, throwing a few haddock around, trading insults with Bob Geldof on the good ship Remain? As well as the injustice of having to share fishing waters, Dave’s other big beef with the EU is all the topdown micromanagement. We speak while he is on watch, sitting in one of the surprisingly comfy chairs in the wheelhouse. “Most companies and organisations I know listen to their workforces, and that feedback works up through the chain, not the other way round. The CFP is trying to manage on such a large scale, it just won’t work. Fishing is different in many areas around EU waters.” On quotas, for example, Dave thinks they’re not always getting it right. Sometimes the people who decide how much of one stock can be fished are working from data that is a few years old. “You need a more flexible approach. So if you’re catching too much of one species, it’s more abundant on the ground than the science would suggest – you should be able to take that species.” By take, he means keep, as opposed to discarding. On this trip he’s been discarding haddock, because he’s catching many more than he has a quota for. To see a beautiful freshly caught haddock going down the chute with the offal, dead, into the sea is a sickening sight, unless you’re a lazy gannet. WDave says his leave vote wasn’t purely based on fishing; he made up his mind while visiting the EU headquarters in Brussels. He was

of people. “So I asked Julie, ‘Who are all these people? They can’t all be MEPs.’ And she said, ‘No, most are lobbyists, working for either NGOs or big chemical companies and the like.’ I was kind of taken aback. I’m not naive, I know that lobbying goes on – but it was the enormous scale of it. There must have been four or five lobbyists for every MEP.” He asked her how often she met her constituents, and she said it was quite rare for them to come to Brussels. “And I said, ‘That’s it, I’m out.’” When Dave talks about the hordes of circling lobbyists, it’s hard not to think of gannets. As we talk in the wheelhouse, he’s keeping an eye on what’s going on, outside, and on the panel of screens in front of him. One shows where we are, and who else is around (there are no other fishing boats); another shows the topography of the seafloor; a third shows the F1 Grand Prix from Brazil (we have Sky Sports, too). A big white splodge on the radar is an approaching squall. They generally seem to hit at hauling time. Gale warning issued: 09.50 on Mon 12 Nov 2018 UTC. South-westerly gale force 8 expected soon. Wind: westerly or south-westerly 5-7, occasionally gale 8 in north. Sea state: rough or very rough. Weather: thundery showers. Visibility: mainly good. Today there are no high-pressure systems coming from the south, bringing fair or settled weather. The conditions are “poor”, as Dave says, with characteristic understatement, for the whole trip. Strong winds, big seas, five-metre waves; this is about the worst weather they go out in, and why we’re at sea for just four days, instead of the usual six. But even storm clouds have silver linings. Being one of the bigger boats in the fleet means Crystal Sea is one of the few that will be out in these conditions. One of the larger beam trawlers from Newlyn had to be towed home by a sister ship due to engine trouble in the night. But we’re still catching fish – a lot of fish, and good fish: plenty of John Dory and monkfish. And because rough weather means fewer fish coming in, the price tends to go up as the Beaufort scale does. But the crew’s mood doesn’t get a

there to make a presentation to a roundtable meeting about a filter that would allow smaller fish to escape the net, after which he went to meet his MEP, Julie Girling, in the chamber. The floor started to fill up, hundreds

similar bounce. “When it’s like this, shitty weather, it’s not great,” Girts says. I don’t think I’d want to be around Girts when the weather and the fishing were bad. “It’s not the best job in the world, it’s not the worst.”

HERE I’M STANDING NG TO STAND – BOTH DANGEROUS ODY HARD WORK are; probably people with some kind of European financial interest, he says.) And to be honest, it’s not hard to understand why he and other British fishermen haven’t exactly felt the love towards Brussels, even for a die-hard remainer. As a member (just) of the EU, Britain is signed up to the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), which means we do not control our own waters. All the rules – about catches, quotas, discards – come from the European Commission. Fish are seen as a common resource; waters are shared; you fish in mine, I’ll fish in

countries between 2012 and 2014. Meanwhile, the Marine Management Organisation estimates that in 2015, only about 16% of fish and shellfish landed by UK vessels was caught in other EU member states’ waters. Dave has another way to describe what happened to his industry when Ted Heath took the country into the European Economic Community: “We were had.” While the fishing industry plays a tiny part in the UK economy, it fights above its financial weight. Why? Because it’s the beating heart