Fishing Presents a Vexing Snag in Brexit Talks

“Thirty kilos — that isn’t even a box — that’s all I’m allowed, the French they fill up and, with all due respect,” asked Mr. Driver, pointing to the ocean, his voice rising a little, “what’s this piece of water called between England and France? It’s called the English Channel, not the French Channel.”

Around Britain’s coast, about 60 percent of the fish are caught by foreign boats, and one former British minister, Michael Forsyth, recently compared the situation to the British demanding two-thirds of France’s grape harvest.

In the English Channel zone — where Mr. Driver goes to sea — 84 percent of the cod is allocated to France and just 9 percent to the British, according to Barrie Deas, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organizations.

Yet, livelihoods are at stake on the other side of the Channel, too. Standing on the bridge of the Prins Bernhard, preparing to leave the Dutch port of Scheveningen on a 15-day voyage to Ireland’s west coast, Christophe Pauliac described being a captain not as a job, but “a passion.”

Mr. Pauliac’s father, grandfather and uncle were fishermen, and he is in charge of 30 French crew members on this floating fish factory, a large and sophisticated trawler that nets, then pumps up tons of mackerel and herring from the sea.

The fish are sorted and stored in a giant freezer that can accommodate more than 65,000 blocks of fish, each weighing more than 20 kilos, or about 45 pounds.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/15/world/europe/brexit-fishing-britain.html