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The UK breached its obligations in closing parts of its waters to EU sand eel fishermen, a tribunal has ruled while upholding London’s right to restrict access in other areas.
The legal wrangling over access for EU boats to catch sand eels is one of the most prominent irritants in post-Brexit relations between London and Brussels, and a key part of a larger fishing dispute that has influenced talks on closer co-operation in defence and security.
Last March, London imposed a ban on catching sand eels on Dogger Bank in the North Sea for environmental reasons, a move that sparked outrage among Danish and Swedish fishermen in particular who scoop them up for use as pig feed and to produce fish oil.
The EU took the case to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in October after consultations with the UK failed to find a resolution to reopen the waters to EU fishermen.
That court ruled on Friday that the UK had not acted “proportionally” under the terms of post-Brexit agreements when it closed English waters to EU fishermen. It added that a decision to close Scottish waters was fair, dismissing that aspect of the EU’s challenge.
The UK government said on Friday it “welcome[d] the clarity provided by this decision, and we will undertake a process in good faith to bring the UK into compliance on the specific issues raised by the tribunal”.
“The ruling does not mean the UK is legally obliged to reverse the closure of English waters,” it added.
A spokesperson for the European Commission welcomed the tribunal’s ruling and said the EU “will continue to support a mutually beneficial fisheries relationship with the UK, focusing on both the immediate and long-term sustainability of fisheries”.
The UK agreed to give EU fishing fleets continued access to its waters under the post-Brexit agreement negotiated with the European Commission, but has the power to take conservation measures so long as they do not discriminate against any nation.
Although the Dogger Bank ban applies to all boats, Copenhagen has argued it amounts to de facto discrimination because Danish vessels account for 99 per cent of the sand eels catch.
The UK government’s decision to restrict fishing, which it said was taken to protect sand eels, which are an important food source for birds such as kittiwakes and puffins, was welcomed by marine conservation groups.
Ben Reynolds, executive director of environmental think-tank IEEP UK, said the ruling “is welcome news for the environment, and for the finding that there is no legal obligation to reverse the closures despite the procedural error being found in the English case”.
