In Parliament Dr Neil Hudson MP, Shadow DEFRA Minister, urged the Government to ensure it works to defend the hard-working UK fishing industry and ‘retain unrestricted access to our own waters as a sovereign coastal state’ ahead of upcoming negotiations with the EU on UK fishing quotas, during a House of Commons Debate on fishing quotas.
The Westminster Hall debate was held ahead of a critical juncture for the fishing industry. Following our departure from the European Union, the previous Conservative Government secured the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which provided a transitory framework for fishing quotas for UK fishermen and women in EU waters until June 2026 and secured up to 785,000 tonnes, worth nearly £1billion, in quota after 2024 negotiations. After June 2026, however, negotiations the European Union must take place annually to secure future quotas.
Concerningly, recent reports that a sacrifice of reduced UK fishing rights, in favour of increased access for France, may be required for the UK to be included in access to the £125 billion EU Defence Fund, set up by the European response to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Dr Hudson made clear to the Government that such a trade-off is simply unacceptable, and urged Minister Daniel Zeichner to affirm they would not sell out our industry in negotiations.
A veterinary surgeon, scientist and animal welfare champion, Dr Hudson called on the Government to use the UK’s soft power to encourage international partners to end whaling in negotiations and meetings, which is still practised in countries such as Norway, Iceland, Japan and the Faroe Islands. Furthermore, he pushed the Government to address marine mammal bycatch, where it is currently estimated 650,000 marine mammals a year worldwide, including 1,000 in UK waters, sadly die because of being caught in fishing equipment. In particular, he called for progress on electronic monitoring systems being placed on all fishing systems as soon as possible, and ensure underreporting is not taking place.
Dr Hudson has an extensive record of highlighting marine mammal welfare, as a Member of Parliament, and former member of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee in the last Parliament. In that committee capacity, he pressed the Fisheries Minister to call for an end whaling through soft power in negotiations and initiated an Inquiry into Marine Mammals that exposed the scale of the marine mammal bycatch problem.
He has also met with representatives of major marine mammal welfare organisations to tackle marine mammal bycatch.
You can see Dr Hudson’s speech, and previous work on marine mammals, at the following links:
Dr Hudson’s speech in Hansard: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2025-03-26/debates/DAAA0E5B-9340-40F2-B028-F7B52A45B2AA/FishingQuotaNegotiationsImpactOnUKFleet#contribution-CE7C72B8-D854-4866-A38D-D0E98309CA25
Dr Hudson’s speech on parliamentlive.tv from 10:28:50: https://www.parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/da09243e-8e6a-4b8e-a161-db08b522ba5b
Dr Hudson’s previous work on marine mammal welfare:
https://www.neilhudson.org.uk/news/dr-neil-hudson-mp-raises-plight-whales-and-dolphins-negotiations-foreign-partners https://www.neilhudson.org.uk/news/veterinary-mp-dr-neil-hudson-calls-end-whales-dolphins-porpoises-and-seals-dying-unnecessarily
Following the Debate, Dr Neil Hudson MP commented:
“Our dedicated fishing industry does so much for our nation and food security, doing work that is often dangerous and they are true unsung heroes. The previous Government began the work of using our power as a sovereign coastal state to secure quotas with the EU through the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.”
“With a critical juncture close on the horizon with negotiations for fishing quotas after June 2026, it is crucial the Government builds on this progress with a proper plan to ensure our fishing industry gets the fair access to water and fish they rightly deserve.”
“UK fishing must not be used as a bargaining chip by this Labour Government in their negotiations with Europe and we as His Majesty’s Opposition will be holding the Government to account to deliver the best deal possible.”
