View: Trade and fisheries negotiations with Greenland

UK Fisheries is encouraged by the parallel trade and fisheries negotiations with Greenland which are so important for the UK’s Distant Waters Fleet.

The vital interest for the UK fleet is to regain access for our boats to Greenlandic waters to catch worthwhile amounts of cod and haddock. This objective is even more crucial today as it will add to the security of the supply of fish for our national dish, something which is already under threat from higher prices caused by the war in Ukraine.

We therefore trust that, working in conjunction with the Department of International Trade, DEFRA negotiators ensure that access for British fishing boats is enshrined in a UK-Greenland Fisheries Framework Agreement before any agreement is reached on trade and tariffs. This step will enable UK fisheries negotiators to secure a realistic amount of fish for the UK fleet which reflects the value to Greenland of any removal of tariffs on Greenland shrimp exports to the UK. The removal of those tariffs alone will be worth at least £52m p.a. to Greenland’s exporters and, while we may not secure quotas of the same value, the UK should be seeking several thousand tons of cod or equivalent stocks in subsequent negotiations.