It was lovely to visit the new harbourmaster in beautiful Seahouses recently, one of the many harbours our coastal constituency’s fishing vessels call home. Northumberland’s fishermen, from home harbours of Berwick, Seahouses, Amble and beyond, have shaped our coastal community for centuries. That's why I’m delighted the Government is backing British fishing with a new package of measures announced this week.
Including £45.6m of funding, new sustainability plans following hundreds of hours of discussions with the fishing sector, and new consultations on more effective methods and approaches, we’re seizing our post-Brexit fishing freedoms in this clear departure from Common Fisheries Policy.
It’s especially welcome that, having already negotiated a significant uplift in quota shares following Brexit – worth over £100m in fishing opportunities this year alone – the new consultation to remove the 350kg annual finfish cap for small British vessels of 10m or under will be a particular boost, opening up more potential income for smaller businesses.
