Brexit fishing row leads to trade court showdown

The humble gerbil is set to take center stage in the first post-Brexit UK-EU trade court battle.

Britain has banned European vessels from fishing for silverfish in its North Sea waters to protect the marine wildlife that depends on it for food.

But the EU is contesting the move, arguing it discriminates against Danish vessels that fish for sandfish commercially, in breach of a post-Brexit trade deal.

The dispute now heads to a three-day trade tribunal hearing after formal talks to resolve the dispute broke down.

Barring a last-minute compromise, it will be the first time both sides have gone to arbitration under the 2021 trade deal negotiated by Boris Johnson.

The case is due to be heard from Tuesday next week by the Permanent Chamber of the Arbitral Tribunal, a dispute settlement body based in The Hague, by a panel of three mutually agreed international trade judges.

They could back Britain’s position – or order Britain to change or lift its ban, in which case Brussels could end up retaliating with tariffs on British exports if ministers refuse to comply.

Under the trade deal, a final decision must be made by the end of April, although it could come sooner. There is no right to appeal.

It comes as the UK prepares for complex negotiations with the EU over new catch limits from June next year, when current arrangements under the trade deal expire.

Sir Keir Starmer also hopes to persuade EU leaders to strike new deals in areas such as security and food trade as part of a wider “reset” of relations with the UK.

Sandfish, a group of small eel-like fish species, is a jointly managed fish stock under a trade deal. It is not caught for culinary reasons and can hardly be found on the menu of restaurants in European capitals.

But it is a favorite food of other fish species such as cod and haddock, as well as endangered seabirds such as puffins and puffins.

From 2021, the UK has effectively banned its vessels from fishing for the species through its licensing regime on the grounds that it is necessary to prevent overfishing and protect the North Sea ecosystem.

Then in March last year Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government banned all vessels from fishing for the species in English marine waters, and a similar ban was imposed in Scottish waters by SNP-led Scottish government ministers.

It won praise from British interlocutors who had long campaigned for a total ban, and Sir Keir’s Labor government has kept the ban in place since coming to power in July.

But it has angered Danish fishermen, who sell sandfish to animal feed and fish oil producers and are allowed to catch the vast majority of the species in UK waters under a post-Brexit trade deal.

The dispute centers on whether the UK’s right to restrict trawlers on conservation grounds unduly restricts the EU’s agreed fishing rights.

In its submissions to the court, the EU argued that the geographic scope of the ban was not justified by scientific modeling of stock levels or the “economic and social impact” on Danish fishing communities.

A detailed response from the UK government has yet to be released, but a spokesman told the BBC that it is committed to protecting the environment in line with its trade commitments.

His decision to go ahead with the ban was backed by an unlikely coalition of three political parties, environmental groups and staunch Brexiteers.

The renewable energy industry has also expressed interest, arguing that the ban helps achieve the necessary level of seabird “sustainability” to allow more wind farms to be built while still meeting conservation targets.

The UK has previously estimated sandfish caught in its waters to be worth around £45m a year, a small industry in the context of the wider trade relationship.

But the dispute will be closely watched for how the judges balance Britain’s right to take enforcement action with economic rights.