View: Win or lose in fishing talks?

How confidently the UK government uses its negotiating levers to regain and expand its distant fisheries assets in return for trade will be the key factor in determining the outcome of the talks.

If we fail and lose our distant fishing industry, the irony of the government’s aspiration that the UK should become a proudly independent coastal state won't be lost on the voters of the ‘red wall’ in the coastal North-East of England. 

These are two different courses that HMG could chart for the future of the UK distant fishing fleet:

Key fishing facts

1. The fish we eat in the UK comes from distant waters – not from UK waters.
2. The UK’s distant waters fleet operates in those distant waters.
3. The UK has a huge trade deficit with the Nordic coastal fishing nations. 
4. As a newly-independent coastal state, the UK can leverage its market with these nations for continued or better access to their waters.
5. EU-UK issues are important, but not at the expense of the Nordic fisheries deals.

THESE FACTS ARE KEY TO CURRENT UK POLICYMAKING ON TRADE & FISHERIES NEGOTIATIONS