North Shields fisherman brands Brexit a 'disaster' five years after UK left EU

Daniel Hall
·2-min read
The Fish Quay, North Shields
-Credit:Alan Millin


A North Shields fisherman branded Brexit a disaster and says he regrets voting for it five years after the UK left the European Union.

Andy Dixon, of 55 Fisheries on Tanners Bank at North Shields Fish Quay, told GB News reporter Nana Aku that it "hadn't worked out as the Government promised", and that it was "costing him dearly". Mr Dixon, who exports langoustines, said that it had been legislation, documentation and red tape had increased about 100-fold in the last five years.

The main market that North Shields fishermen target for langoustines are France, Spain and Italy. However, those markets can now import from within the EU for far cheaper prices.

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In the early months of 2020, just after Brexit was rubber stamped, Mr Dixon was "unable to send anything" to Europe. With a product that has a four to five day shelf life, this led to the waste of hundreds of kilos of seafood.

Mr Dixon said: "Once you've managed to go, I think it was April of the same year, the costs that hit us then still remain now. This is ultimately costing the fishing fleet 30 - 50p for every kilo of prawns landed today."

Asked if Brexit had at least meant that fishermen had a larger share of the North Sea's bounty, Mr Dixon said that the North East had seen no difference. He added: "We don't get a visiting fleet of vessels locally.

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"We used to see a couple of Dutch vessels. they no longer come now. We don't have a visiting fleet from mainland Europe into North Shields, so that hasn't affected us locally."

Mr Dixon finished: "I was a Brexiteer and I voted mainly because of the red tape surrounding the UK industry and North Shields in particular. If you phoned the authorities in the past prior to Brexit, it was all Brussels, (it) got the blame for everything.

"Nobody could answer your question whether it was on fish size, mesh size, gear. It was Brussels, Brussels, Brussels. That was my main thought, we can move away from Europe. We can decide and set our own destiny. Nothing's changed from the legislative side and we're just being affected by cost."

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