The tiny fish at the centre of the first major Brexit trade battle between UK and EU
Share:
The move is thought to be the first courtroom trade battle between the UK and EY since Brexit. The UK will fight in court its right to ban fishing vessels from catching sand eels, small silvery fish which are often pictured being guzzled by puffins. The move is thought to be the first courtroom trade battle between the UK and EU since Brexit.
Britain banned sand eel fishing last year in an effort to protect and sustain the numbers of puffins, auks and kittiwakes that eat them. But the fish are useful as animal feed and bought by fish oil producers. Danish fishing vessels want the right to fish them in UK waters and the EU will challenge the ban in court.
This month there will be a three-day tribunal hearing at the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague after talks to resolve the dispute failed. A final ruling will be made in April. The ban in England was brought in by the last Conservative government and was hailed by environmentalists. Scotland followed suit shortly after with its own ban.
But the EU argues that it infringes the EU-UK trade deal which promised full fishing access to UK waters. The rift comes at a sensitive time for EU-UK relations since prime minister Keir Starmer is aiming to strengthen ties with the trading union. As well as being eaten by puffins, sand eels are eaten by fish such as cod and haddock. Despite their name, they are a fish despite their long, sleek frame, which can grow to 30cm.
