Fishery Policy and Brexit

UK Fisheries will be directly affected by Brexit, with the UK set to leave the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) of the EU. This means that the UK will be responsible for governing fisheries within its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The rights of EU vessels to access the UK's EEZ after Brexit are likely to continue, but the exact nature of this access will be subject to negotiation. Because fisheries is a policy area that has been largely Europeanised since the 1970s, the UK and devolved governments and parliaments will need to take on governance and scrutiny functions for the first time in decades, and will need to engage in bilateral and multilateral talks over Total Allowable Catch (TAC) and quotas with other countries and the EU. Drawing on interview data collected in Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands, this paper will outline some of the key challenges and opportunities that UK fisheries policy faces in the context of Brexit, as well as critically assessing the UK's capacity to take on these responsibilities.