Fact Check: is 80% of UK fish given away to the rest of Europe?

Posted on 17 April 2015

Nigel Farage, leader of UKIP has said that as a result of membership of the Common Fisheries Policy, we are now allowed to catch less than 20% of the fish that swim in British waters. The other 80% we have given away to the rest of Europe. Is this true?

Nigel Farage raised fishing quotas on the campaign trawl in Grismby. Anna Gowthorpe/PA Wire

Environment's Dr. Bryce Beukers-Stewart, writing in "The Conversation" reviews the article challenging Nigel Farage's statement:

This is a thorough and well-illustrated response which uses the most reliable and up-to-date information available. By demonstrating that the majority of fish in our waters are in fact European rather than British it highlights a key point – even if Britain left the EU we would still need to negotiate quotas which took this into account. There is no guarantee this would ensure any more of the catch.

It’s also interesting to look at these figures in terms of value rather than just landings. Three of the top five most valuable UK fisheries are for shellfish: prawns, scallops and crabs. For these more sedentary species we already have almost complete control. Although some fish, such as haddock are mainly eaten in the UK, a lot of shellfish from British waters is exported to EU countries. The vast majority of our scallop catch – the UK’s third most valuable fishery – goes to France and Belgium. Likewise Spain and Portugal take a lot of our crabs and prawns. Let’s concentrate on looking after what we are responsible for, more wisely.

Go to The Conversation to read the full article