Fisherman reveals post-brexit reality for france – 'it will change'

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has insisted Britain will “take back our fisheries” after Brexit. But, fishing boss Bertie Armstrong has claimed French President, Emmanuel Macron, cannot yet

admit instant access to British waters will cease once Britain has left the EU. Speaking to Express.co.uk, Mr Armstrong, the CEO of the Scottish Fisherman’s Federation, reiterated that

“things will change” post-Brexit. He said: “I think there are two elements to the statements we get from the Europeans and particularly from the French and Mr Macron. Of course, there are

others who are very heavily dependent and disappointed by the deal that was struck in 1973 for the opportunities our industry has. “The two halves of it are the politics and Mr Macron would

say that wouldn’t he - he cannot possibly at this stage be seen in my view, be seen to say to his fishing industry, ‘well things are going to change boys and you are going to lose’. He

simply is not going to say that. “But, the other half, of this is the actuality of realities of international law, which changes things. “When these laws were introduced, the international

community just decided when we joined the European Union that the way to cease the downward spiral of overfishing - the solution to that is to give the waters, 200-nautical miles out or a

medium line, if there is a country closer with its coastline to their coastal states. READ MORE: NIGEL FARAGE LASHES 'COMPLETE RUBBISH' EU DIVORCE BILL THREAT “It would have been

Norway, Iceland, Faroe Islands and the UK, if we had simply followed international law, but that was given away and our waters became common access to the rest of the EU.” He added: “So they

are making the exact sort of noises you would expect people to make when things are going to change. “But, it isn’t anything other than a shift in international law. Yes Mr Macron will say

that, but I think it is true to say that there is no administration, in the fishing nations, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, that fish in our waters that

understand there will be a change of legislation and things will change.” During the interview, Mr Armstrong also insisted British fishermen were given “assurances immediately” by the Prime

Minister’s administration that the industry would be protected after Brexit. British fishermen have long been critical of the European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy, which imposes strict

catching quotas among EU countries. Speaking in the House of Commons towards the end of July, during his first speech as Prime Minister, Boris Johnson insisted the UK would soon become an

“independent coastal state”. While Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, now the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, had said that from 2021 the UK would control fishing access to a 200

nautical mile zone around its coastline. But, since then, the scheduled Brexit deadline has been pushed back to October 31 - delayed from the original exit date of March 29 this year, with a

new Prime Minister in place. The UK is on track to leave the European Union with no deal at the end of October this year, with Mr Johnson so far unable to secure concessions from the EU on

the withdrawal agreement.