Fishing industry 'sold down the river' by Brexit

'They face a landscape filled with uncertainty, rather than the bright, sunlit uplands they were promised'

Fishermen in Devon have been left feeling ‘betrayed’ by a Brexit they thought was going to help them, it has been claimed.

Speaking in the House of Commons, South Devon MP Caroline Voaden said: “They face a landscape filled with uncertainty, rather than the bright, sunlit uplands they were promised.”

The Liberal Democrat MP, whose constituency includes Brixham, was speaking during a debate on fishing policy.

Brixham, she said, was the most valuable port in England and Wales in terms of catch landed, recording £60 million in fish sales last year. However, it faced what she called ‘profound challenges’, many of which had been exacerbated by withdrawing from the European Union.

She told MPs: “Despite the promises that some made during the referendum campaign - promises of greater control, increased quotas and a more prosperous future -too many of our fishers now find themselves in a precarious position.

“Brexit was sold to our fishermen as a golden opportunity, yet the truth is that many fishermen have experienced the complete opposite. Instead of gaining more control, they have met a series of hurdles that make their lives harder.”

Immediately after Brexit a number of people in the Brixham fishing industry were featured in the national press talking about how promises of easiest trade with Europe, made during the run-up to the referendum, had failed to materialise.

Mrs Voaden went on: “They are now facing massive trade barriers. The sheer cost of additional paperwork has been eye-watering, with fishermen struggling to pass on increased selling prices to their long-standing customers.

“This is not the control that was promised; it is a recipe for frustration and despair.”

Mrs Voaden agreed with Grimsby Labour MP Melanie Onn that the fishing industry had been ‘sold down the river’.

She added: “Funnily enough, Brixham was quite a Brexit-supporting community. As a proud remainer, I had hesitations about Brixham as part of the constituency at first, but as I tour the constituency, I find it astonishing how many people in the local fishing community openly tell me that they feel betrayed and that they were lied to with promises that could never have been met.”