UK Fisheries Policy Post-Brexit: Multi-level Challenges and Opportunities

The decision to leave the EU will have a profound effect on the way in which a multitude of policies are implemented in the UK. Fishery policy is a most pertinent example of a policy area that is likely to undergo significant changes. The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) has regulated the fishing industry since the UK joined the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973. When the process of leaving the EU is complete, the CFP will no longer apply to the UK. Indeed, the UK will be responsible for governing its own territorial waters.

To complicate matters further, the devolved institutions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are, legally, responsible for fisheries. Therefore, one would presume that once the UK leaves the EU, the Scottish Government will oversee Scottish territorial waters, to take one example. However, it has been suggested that in order to run an efficient and effective fishery policy the UK Government may wish to repatriate powers over fisheries away from the devolved institutions. However, repatriation of devolved competencies, particularly in the context of a Scottish independence debate will politically be very controversial. This project examines this tension between the need to develop efficient and effective policy in the light of the rescaling of competencies from the EU to the UK and its devolved governments and the challenging political reality of the current devolution settlement.

In this light, one of the objectives of this project is to analyse and understand the interaction between different levels of government in the UK in the context of fisheries policy. Using fisheries as a case study, the project aims to contribute to the academic literature on multi-level governance and rescaling by exploring the need to alter policy realities in a post Brexit UK. Besides examining the UK's internal dynamics, the project aims to look overseas to Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands; states and territories who are outside the EU but who govern their own territorial waters and who negotiate with each other and the EU every year to set the amount of fish that can be caught in particular parts of the seas around Europe. Understanding how actors in these countries organise fishery policies will help the project team develop a model of best practice so that government officials, politicians, and the fishing industry itself can learn and adopt these lessons in order to make the transition away from the CFP as smooth and easy as possible.

The project also aims to engage with fishing communities across the UK, holding public engagement events to inform members of these communities about what leaving the EU means for the fishing industry and their communities. At these events, a series of roundtable focus groups will be held so that members of fishing communities can have their say on the process and outcome of leaving the CFP. Finally, the project aims to leave an educational legacy by forging close links between the University of Aberdeen and the University of the West of Scotland undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, as well as the development of new E-Learning platforms that facilitate learning and discussion between students, policymakers and the wider public.

One of the key aims of this project is to engage beyond the usual academic audiences and ensure strong linkages with policy makers, fishing communities, the general public and students. Three objectives of the five research objectives (see case of support) are directly linked to impact:

i) Utilise the research findings of the project to engage with and inform key stakeholders in the UK fisheries sector, namely the fishing industry itself, devolved and national government officials, scientific advisors, government ministers and relevant parliamentarians.
ii) Organise and run public engagement events in parts of the UK associated with the fishing industry (such as the North East Scotland, Cornwall and Northern Ireland) to engage with and inform members of the public on the likely impact of Brexit on the fishing industry.
iii) Forge new educational links between the University of Aberdeen and the University of the West of Scotland and use this project to enhance research-led teaching on post-Brexit issues as part of Honours and Masters programmes at both institutions.

As outlined in the Impact summary section, this project has four key audiences when it comes to impact:

1. Stakeholders and policy makers involved in the fishing industry - the project will engage with policy makers at the European, national, regional and local level by providing independent and up to date policy advice in the form of policy reports, informal engagements and submissions to parliamentary enquiries
2. Fishing dependent communities- this will take the form of Q&A and round table sessions in fishing communities across the UK, media engagement (see below),
3. The wider, general public through the media - which will be organised through university press officers as well as outlets related to the Centre on Constitutional Change in the UK and publications on specific high impact blogs.
4. Students studying at the Universities of Aberdeen and the West of Scotland - an educational legacy is created by ensuring that the research enhances research-led teaching on post Brexit studies; strengthening the inter-institutional working between post-graduate students from both universities;develop e-learning resources and launch a MOOC that will focus on post-Brexit themes.