UK PM Johnson says some fishermen have faced post-Brexit barriers

[January 20, 2021]  LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday that some fishermen had experienced problems exporting fish to the European Union, an issue he said had been compounded by a decline in fish eating across Europe due to restaurant closures.

"It is, it is absolutely true that some British fishermen have faced barriers at the present time owing to complications over form filling," Johnson told parliament.

"And indeed one of the biggest problems is that, alas, there is a decline in appetite for fish in continental markets because the restaurants ... are shut," he said.

"The reality is that Brexit is delivering a huge uplift in quota, already in the next five years ... By 2026, the fishing people of this country will have access to all the fish in all the territorial waters of this country," he said.

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and Kate Holton, editing by Estelle Shirbon)

[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.