Brexit Will Damage Fishing Industry, say Greenpeace

The former Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, appeared on BBC Countryfile yesterday evening. Whilst on the show he stated that leaving the EU would benefit the UK fishing industry. Greenpeace UK have reacted to Boris Johnson’s comment.

Will McCallum, Head of Oceans at Greenpeace UK, said: “The livelihoods of thousands of sustainable fishermen are being put at risk not by EU laws but by the grossly unfair division of fishing rights the UK government has overseen. The reformed common fisheries policy gives ministers the power to fix this broken system yet they have so far preferred to defend the status quo. 

“Former fisheries ministers from Labour, the SNP and the Conservative party have all come out strongly in favour of remaining in Europe. Unlike the former mayor of London, they understand that the root of the problem is in Westminster, not Brussels. The only thing Brexit guarantees is years of bureaucratic wrangling, during which time our fishing fleet will continue to struggle for survival.”