A series of agreements means the UK and the Faroe Islands both have fishing jurisdiction over a ‘special area’ between the two countries. Last month, the Faroese government banned Russian ships from entering its ports. But the ruling does not apply to fishing vessels. A UK government source said: “The Faroe Islands should have taken a stronger stance on this.
“Allowing Russian ships access to an area worth around £16m amid the horrors we are seeing in Ukraine is simply wrong.
“We, alongside our allies and partners, have taken urgent action to maximize the damage to Putin’s war machine and degrade Russia’s economy for years to come.
“We will categorically not allow any Russian-flagged vessels to fish in UK waters, and we will continue to urge the Faroe Islands to follow our lead, ban these vessels and do what is ultimately the right thing to do.”
The government reportedly intends to introduce a 35% tariff on whitefish imports from Russia this month.
Up to 40% of the whitefish on sale in Britain is caught by Russian vessels, according to estimates by industry body Seafish.
In 2020, the UK imported 432,000 tonnes of whitefish worth £778m, meaning the money destined for Russia is likely to exceed £200m.
There are fears that the rising cost of fish and energy could put chip shops across Britain at risk of closure.
Andrew Crook, president of the National Fish Fryers Federation, said: “I know this is largely out of government control, but they have some things they can do to help operators like me, who do everything properly and pay the staff well., and try to do everything that is environmentally friendly.
Aoife Martin, chief operating officer at Seafish, said: “We will continue to provide advice and guidance to businesses to help them adapt to the changes once more information becomes available.”
The Faroe Islands government has been contacted for comment.
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Source: www.express.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-06-09 20:29:59
