Despite banning Russian vessels from fishing in UK waters or landing in British ports, trawlers have access to a “Special Zone” controlled jointly by the UK government and the Faroe Islands. At least six Russian boats recently entered the area to fish for 16 16m worth of whitefish using Faroe licenses, government sources said. In response, British officials urged their counterparts in the Faroe Islands to take a “tougher line” and stop granting fishing licenses to Russian trawlers over Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. A Whitehall source said ministers were concerned that the entry of the vessels during an upcoming six-week Blue Whiting migration period would allow Russia to take advantage of the fish by financing its “war machine”. Blue Whiting comes from the same family of marine fish as cod, cod, and cod, and is usually processed into fish food and oil, although it is sometimes eaten fresh in Russia. The United Kingdom has already imposed a 35 percent tariff on Russian whitefish imports in a bid to hurt the country’s fishing industry and has said it will not issue any licenses to Russian trawlers due to the war in Ukraine. But under a number of international agreements, Britain can not block access to the “Special Zone” off the north coast of Scotland in the North Atlantic if the Faroe Islands choose to issue permits.
“Finally the right thing to do”
A government source said: “The Faroe Islands need to take a tougher line on this. Allowing Russian ships access to an area worth about 16 16 million in the midst of the horror we see in Ukraine is simply wrong. “We, together with our allies and partners, have taken urgent action to maximize the damage to Putin’s war machine and to downgrade the Russian economy for years to come. “We will definitely not allow any Russian-flagged vessel to fish anywhere in UK waters and we will continue to urge the Faroe Islands to follow suit, ban these vessels and do what is right in the end.” Under current fisheries legislation, foreign vessels can only fish in UK waters if they are granted a permit, which requires a framework agreement between Britain and the other country. The United Kingdom does not have such an agreement with Russia, so trawlers are usually not allowed in British waters anyway, except to cross. The majority of foreign licenses are issued to French trawlers, who have previously been embroiled in quarrels with British fishermen over the English Channel. Grant Shapps, the transport minister, said Russian boats “were not welcome here”. The Faroe Islands government has contacted us for comment.
