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Sand lance is the favorite food of endangered seabirds such as puffins
The humble sandeel is set to take center stage in the first legal trade battle between the UK and EU since Brexit.
The United Kingdom has banned European ships from catching silverfish species in its North Sea waters to protect marine wildlife that relies on them for food.
But the EU contests the decision, arguing that it discriminates against Danish vessels fishing for sandeel commercially, violating the post-Brexit trade deal.
The dispute now heads to a three-day Commercial Court hearing, after formal negotiations to resolve the dispute failed.
Without a last-minute compromise, this will be the first time both sides have gone to arbitration under the 2021 trade deal agreed by Boris Johnson.
The case is due to be heard from Tuesday next week at the Permanent Court of Arbitration, a dispute resolution body based in The Hague, by a panel of three mutually approved international trade judges.
They could maintain the UK’s position – or order the UK to change or abandon its ban, in which case Brussels could ultimately retaliate by imposing tariffs on UK exports if ministers refuse to comply .
Under the terms of the trade deal, a final decision must be made by the end of April, although it could be made sooner. There is no right to appeal.
It comes as the UK prepares for tricky negotiations with the EU over new catch limits from June next year, when the current provisions of the trade deal expire.
Sir Keir Starmer also hopes to persuade EU leaders to agree new deals in areas such as security and food trade, as part of a wider “reset” of relations with the UK.
Environmental applause
Sand lance, a group of small eel-like fish species, is a jointly managed fish stock under the trade agreement. It is not fished for culinary reasons and it is unlikely to be found on restaurant menus in European capitals.
But it is a favorite food of other fish species like cod and haddock, as well as threatened seabirds like puffins and kittiwakes.
The UK has effectively prevented its own vessels from fishing for this species since 2021 through its licensing regime, on the grounds that it is necessary to prevent overfishing and protect the North Sea ecosystem.
Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government then banned all vessels from catching the species in English waters in March last year, with a similar ban in Scottish waters introduced by ministers in the SNP-led Scottish Government.
The move was welcomed by British conservation groups, who had long campaigned for an outright ban, and Sir Keir’s Labor government has kept the ban in place since coming to power in July.
But it has outraged Danish fishermen, who sell sandeel to animal feed and fish oil producers and, under the post-Brexit trade deal, hold the right to fish the vast majority of the share of this species in UK waters.
Small fish, big row
The dispute centers on whether the UK’s right to restrict trawlers for conservation reasons unnecessarily restricts EU-agreed fishing rights.
In its arguments before the Court, the EU argued that the geographical scope of the ban is not justified by scientific modeling of stock levels, nor by the “economic and social impacts” on Danish fishing communities. .
In a response published by the court, the UK defended the scientific advice behind the ban, adding that the EU had failed to point to “any superior model” available at the time.
He added that the UK had the right to impose the ban, pointing out that the trade deal itself commits both sides to consider the impact of fishing on marine diversity.
The UK’s decision to maintain the ban was backed by an unlikely coalition of three political parties, conservation groups and committed Brexit supporters.
The renewable energy industry has also taken an interest, arguing that the ban helps achieve the necessary level of seabird “resilience” to allow more wind farms to be built while still meeting conservation goals.
The UK had previously estimated that sandeel caught in its waters were worth around £45m a year, a tiny industry in the context of wider trade relations.
But the dispute will be closely watched to determine how judges will balance the UK’s right to take conservation measures with economic rights.
