Alternatives to the Common Fisheries Policy? The Future of the UK's Fisheries Post-Brexit

Abstract

The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) of the European Union has faced problems relating to sustainability since its conception. Subsequent reforms have offered some limited means of mitigating these problems yet ultimately they have not been adequately addressed and continue to cause critical damage to the European fisheries. Sound scientific advice has been continuously ignored resulting in catches in excess of the Total Allowable Catch (TAC), further compounding depleted stocks and reducing the chances of recovery. Despite the latest reform in 2013, European fisheries remain in a perilous condition. Brexit creates an opportunity for the UK to develop its own fisheries legal framework. A tailor-made system of management specific to the UK waters is an enticing prospect for the UK fishing industry. However, the CFP will remain in operation for the remaining Member States after the UK has left the Union, therefore the UK is likely to encounter substantial difficulty in developing its own personalised fisheries management system, such is the entrenched nature of the CFP and other relevant international law.