After decades of feeling overlooked, Brexit put Lowestoft on the map. The town’s fishermen were amongst the estimated 90% that voted to leave the European Union. Three years on from the referendum, and with little sign of when or how we will leave the EU, what does the town’s future look like now?
Situated on the UK’s most easterly point, Lowestoft is much like any other coastal town in East Anglia. Once a thriving fishing port, it’s been in a state of steady decline for the past 3 decades.
The high-street is a parade of charity shops and closing down sales. The fish market and dock that used to be home to hundreds of vessels has been reduced to a handful of small boats.
But the town hasn’t given up. Far from it, Lowesotft is at the centre of a movement to bring it’s fishing industry, and the town, back to life.
REAF, the Renaissance of East Anglian Fisheries, was founded just after the European Referendum in 2016.
Inspired by the promises made by the Leave campaign, the movement believes that Brexit could be the thing to kick-start their fisheries.
Paul Lines, veteran Lowestoft fisherman, is one of the founders of REAF.
We want to take the sea back, every square centimetre of that sea. And we want every scale and every fin that we can get our hands on to be caught by British subjects
Why do fishermen want Brexit?
For decades British fishermen have argued that the UK has been getting a rough deal from the Common Fishing Policy.
The Common Fishing Policy (CFP) is a set of rules that controls European fishing stocks and fleets. All European Member states have a quota telling them how much of each type of fish they can catch.
The quotas were introduced to protect fish stocks and encourage sustainable fishing. But many British fishermen feel they don’t get a fair share of the quota.
Former Lowestoft fisherman Ian Lowe says these quotas made it nearly impossible to make a profit.
“I sold the business 5 years ago. You couldn’t make a living on the quota they gave you. It was ridiculous.”
The EU’s quota system also allowed foreign fishermen to buy out British licences, gaining access to British quota. The process is called ‘quota hopping’.
In the UK alone, foreign companies own over half of quotas. Meanwhile the smaller, ‘inshore’, fishermen such as those from Lowestoft have access to as little as 4% of the quota.
MPs on side
Peter Aldous, MP for Waveney, claims that this is one of the key reasons for British fishermen voting to leave the European Union.
He said: “We’ve got to move away from this very unfair system where quota is in the control of a very small group of people.
“We need to be able to control who can access our waters and what they can catch if we are going to save British fisheries.”
REAF have invested more than £130,000 into research into the opportunities that could arise from leaving the European Union.
Former DEFRA minister George Eustice hopes that by leaving the CFP
George Eustice resigned as DEFRA Minister earlier this year
they will free up more quota that can be distributed amongst the country’s smaller fisheries.
Mr. Eustice resigned as Agriculture Minister earlier this year over delays to Brexit.
“If we don’t deliver on the referendum result and leave, fishermen will feel bitterly betrayed, there’s no doubt about it.”
“Having brought forward a fisheries bill, showed a glimmer of hope and opportunity of what might lie ahead, if we stumble at the final hurdle and don’t deliver it, British fishermen will feel bitterly betrayed.”
Is Brexit the answer?
Not everyone is convinced that leaving the European Union is the solution for town’s like Lowestoft.
Miriam Greenwood is a fisheries analyst who has studied closely the opportunities Brexit could create for British fishermen.
She fears that fishermen in the UK will be left disappointed by the government’s plans for British fishing post Brexit.
“In the government’s plans for post Brexit, it hasn’t indicated that it would impose any level of British ownership which is pretty surprising’
“There is an unwillingness to re-look fundamentally at the whole quota system in this country. Without other kinds of changes, just leaving the EU won’t help with these issues.”
While the EU might regulate how much member states can fish and where, it is the UK government who divide up the quota amongst the country’s fishermen.
Dr. Greenwood argues until the government change the way that quota is shared out amongst the UK’s fishermen, smaller fisheries will continue to feel overlooked.
A full report on this investigation will air on City Breakfast on Tuesday 16th of May
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HeadlineCity Investigates: No fish, no future?
Short HeadlineCity Invesitgates: No fish, no future?
StandfirstCityNews follows one fishing town's pledge to bring it's fishing industry back to life
After decades of feeling overlooked, Brexit put Lowestoft on the map. The town’s fishermen were amongst the estimated 90% that voted to leave the European Union. Three years on from the referendum, and with little sign of when or how we will leave the EU, what does the town’s future look like now?
Situated on the UK’s most easterly point, Lowestoft is much like any other coastal town in East Anglia. Once a thriving fishing port, it’s been in a state of steady decline for the past 3 decades.
The high-street is a parade of charity shops and closing down sales. The fish market and dock that used to be home to hundreds of vessels has been reduced to a handful of small boats.
But the town hasn’t given up. Far from it, Lowesotft is at the centre of a movement to bring it’s fishing industry, and the town, back to life.
REAF, the Renaissance of East Anglian Fisheries, was founded just after the European Referendum in 2016.
Inspired by the promises made by the Leave campaign, the movement believes that Brexit could be the thing to kick-start their fisheries.
Paul Lines, veteran Lowestoft fisherman, is one of the founders of REAF.
We want to take the sea back, every square centimetre of that sea. And we want every scale and every fin that we can get our hands on to be caught by British subjects
Why do fishermen want Brexit?
For decades British fishermen have argued that the UK has been getting a rough deal from the Common Fishing Policy.
The Common Fishing Policy (CFP) is a set of rules that controls European fishing stocks and fleets. All European Member states have a quota telling them how much of each type of fish they can catch.
The quotas were introduced to protect fish stocks and encourage sustainable fishing. But many British fishermen feel they don’t get a fair share of the quota.
Former Lowestoft fisherman Ian Lowe says these quotas made it nearly impossible to make a profit.
“I sold the business 5 years ago. You couldn’t make a living on the quota they gave you. It was ridiculous.”
The EU’s quota system also allowed foreign fishermen to buy out British licences, gaining access to British quota. The process is called ‘quota hopping’.
In the UK alone, foreign companies own over half of quotas. Meanwhile the smaller, ‘inshore’, fishermen such as those from Lowestoft have access to as little as 4% of the quota.
MPs on side
Peter Aldous, MP for Waveney, claims that this is one of the key reasons for British fishermen voting to leave the European Union.
He said: “We’ve got to move away from this very unfair system where quota is in the control of a very small group of people.
“We need to be able to control who can access our waters and what they can catch if we are going to save British fisheries.”
REAF have invested more than £130,000 into research into the opportunities that could arise from leaving the European Union.
Former DEFRA minister George Eustice hopes that by leaving the CFP
George Eustice resigned as DEFRA Minister earlier this year
they will free up more quota that can be distributed amongst the country’s smaller fisheries.
Mr. Eustice resigned as Agriculture Minister earlier this year over delays to Brexit.
“If we don’t deliver on the referendum result and leave, fishermen will feel bitterly betrayed, there’s no doubt about it.”
“Having brought forward a fisheries bill, showed a glimmer of hope and opportunity of what might lie ahead, if we stumble at the final hurdle and don’t deliver it, British fishermen will feel bitterly betrayed.”
Is Brexit the answer?
Not everyone is convinced that leaving the European Union is the solution for town’s like Lowestoft.
Miriam Greenwood is a fisheries analyst who has studied closely the opportunities Brexit could create for British fishermen.
She fears that fishermen in the UK will be left disappointed by the government’s plans for British fishing post Brexit.
“In the government’s plans for post Brexit, it hasn’t indicated that it would impose any level of British ownership which is pretty surprising’
“There is an unwillingness to re-look fundamentally at the whole quota system in this country. Without other kinds of changes, just leaving the EU won’t help with these issues.”
While the EU might regulate how much member states can fish and where, it is the UK government who divide up the quota amongst the country’s fishermen.
Dr. Greenwood argues until the government change the way that quota is shared out amongst the UK’s fishermen, smaller fisheries will continue to feel overlooked.
A full report on this investigation will air on City Breakfast on Tuesday 16th of May
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