Photographer: Jason Alden / Bloomberg
Photographer: Jason Alden / Bloomberg
Scottish fishermen are prepared to sail an extra 48 hours to Denmark, where their catch could reach twice as much after prices collapsed at home in the aftermath of Brexit.
A boat loaded with 15 tonnes of monkfish that arrived on Thursday night is expected to earn its Scottish captain 225,000 kroner ($ 36,700) more than he would do in Peterhead, the largest fishing port in Britain, said Jesper Kongsted, a fish auctioneer. in Hanstholm, off the north coast of Denmark. .
Buyers in the UK are turning their backs on more expensive types of fish, as red tape and rows can mean they are not fresh when they reach European customers. Seafood from Scotland said prices for many types of seafood fell by 40% to 50% just this week, and some fell to 80%.
“Boris Johnson probably forgot to explain what the departure from the EU would mean for fishermen’s ability to sell to the European market,” Kongsted said.
Read more: a quick overview of why fishing was so important in trade talks
The impact of the Brexit transition on the Scottish seafood industry has been far-reaching, ranging from computer errors to a lack of clarity on the paperwork, leading to efforts to carry out ‘anything but impossible’, ‘Donna Fordyce, CEO of Seafood From Scotland, export said in a statement.
With about a third of Scottish vessels moored and others heading to Denmark, many fishermen are on dry land and the processing industry, which employs 10,000, is suffering.
Feel cheated
In a letter, the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organizations accused British Prime Minister Boris Johnson of sacrificing the industry and being dishonest about the rights fishermen acquired in the UK-EU trade agreement.
‘It is not that you were ultimately forced to concede in the face of an intransigent and powerful adversary who caused such anger in our industry; it is because you have tried to present the agreement as a great success that it is not, ”reads the federation’s letter according to Business Matters.
James Fooders, chief executive of Scotland Food & Drink, estimates that seafood retailers are currently losing £ 1m ($ 1.4m) in exports a day as a result of customs chaos.
The UK landed nearly 1 billion pounds of fish in 2019, many of which are in Scotland.
“No party can rectify the matter overnight, but the losses for the sector are increasing, and the situation is urgent,” Fordyce said. “We have days to fix it – not weeks.”
The British government has promised a £ 100 million package to help rebuild the country’s fishing fleet and the industry’s older infrastructure.
As the Brexit agreement was concluded on Christmas Eve, a lack of business readiness in the first quarter could cause temporary disruption, said Dan Hanson, the British economist at Bloomberg Intelligence.
Read more: Brexit deal may mean less British cod for Fish & Chips
Back in Denmark, Kongsted reckons that boats being unloaded in the Nordic countries are rapidly trying to solve an immediate problem and that the number of oncoming trailers may eventually decrease as solutions are found in the UK
– With help by Joe Mayes
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