Brexit fishing row heads for commercial court showdown

The humble sand eel will take center stage in the first UK-EU trade court battle since Brexit.

The UK has banned European vessels from fishing for silverfish in North Sea waters to protect the marine wildlife that depend on them for food.

But the EU has contested the move, arguing it discriminates against Danish vessels that fish for sand eel commercially, breaching the post-Brexit trade deal.

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

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

The case is due to be heard from Tuesday next week at the Permanent Court of Arbitration, a dispute settlement body based in The Hague, by a panel of three mutually agreed international commercial judges.

They could uphold the UK’s position – or order the UK to change or lift its ban, in which case Brussels could eventually retaliate with tariffs on British exports if ministers refuse to comply.

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

It comes as the UK prepares for tough negotiations with the EU over new catch limits from June next year, when current trade deal agreements 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 “reboot” to relations with the UK.

The sand eel, a group of small eel-like fish species, is a jointly managed fish stock under the trade deal. It is not caught for culinary reasons and is unlikely to be found on the menus 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.

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

Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government then banned all vessels from fishing for the species in English offshore waters in March last year, with a similar ban in Scottish waters introduced by ministers in the SNP-led Scottish government.

It won the UK plaudits from debate groups that had long campaigned for a total ban, and Sir Keir’s Labor government has kept the ban in place since taking power in July.

But it has angered Danish fishermen, who sell sand eel to animal feed and fish oil makers and, under a post-Brexit trade deal, hold the right to catch most of the EU’s share of the species in UK waters.

The dispute centers on whether the UK’s right to limit trawlers on conservation grounds unnecessarily restricts EU treaty 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 impacts” on Danish fishing communities.

The UK government’s detailed response has yet to be published, but a spokesman told the BBC it was committed to protecting the environment in line with its trade commitments.

His decision to continue the ban was backed by an unlikely coalition including three political parties, conservation groups and committed Brexiteers.

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

The UK has previously estimated that the sand eel caught in its waters is 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 the UK’s right to take conservation measures with economic rights.