By UK Fisheries ‘devastated’ by UK-Norway pact
The Kirkella freezer trawler has been impacted by the new UK-Norway pact that has recently been set up as part of post-Brexit negotiations.
The Hull-based vessel was built to process, fillet, freeze and package up to 720 tonnes of fish caught by the workers, but it has been set aside since December 2020.
The long wait for the new UK-Norway pact led to a mere week of work for the Kirkella trawler’s self-employed crew of 30.
This was a result of the UK losing the right to fish in Norwegian waters.
A new deal now allows Norway to fish alongside the UK and catch up to 30,000 tonnes of cod, haddock and hake in the North Sea.
But fishermen are worried that the UK-Norway pact comes ‘too little, too late’.
According to the BBC, Jane Sandell from UK Fisheries claimed that Kirkella supplied between eight to 12 percent of all fish sold in the UK’s fish and chip shops.
She told the BBC: “We’re absolutely devastated for the crew.
“The government was fully aware of what we need to operate a viable business and frankly these kind words were just platitudes.”
First mate Charlie Waddy (with Kirkella) told the BBC that they have been “sold down the road” by the late arrival of the UK-Norway pact.
He added: “I feel for the men.
“Their lives have been fishing since they left school.
“All they wanted to do was come fishing. They loved the job.”
The government claimed that the Norway pact will allow UK fishermen to catch more than 7,000 tonnes of cod in the arctic, an increase of 1,500 tonnes compared to 2021.
(Images: UK Fisheries)
