Should the EU fail to reach an agreement with the UK for continued access to British fishing waters, Irish fisheries chiefs have warned there will be violent clashes.
The Irish fisheries will lose thousands of jobs if their fishermen are not allowed to fish in British waters, with 4,000 jobs at risk.
Irish fishermen catch 30% of all their fish in British waters, and from 1 January Irish trawlermen will not be allowed operate in UK waters if no deal is struck.
Sean O’Donoghue, a spokesman for the Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation said, “If we don’t secure a trade deal, which is looking more likely now, there will be chaos and mayhem.
“Irish boats will no longer be able to fish in British waters and vice versa. This will result in job losses of about 30% in the entire sector, which employs more than 14,000 people.”
He warned that if no deal is struck over a UK-EU fisheries then it could end up with violent clashes with UK fishing boats.
British fishermen are calling for help from the Royal Navy for protection not just from Irish fishermen, but also France and Denmark.
O’Donoghue added, “We are anticipating there will be no trade deal. If Britain crashing out, we have a massive problem that will manifest intensely in fisheries first.
“Otherwise, you will have flashpoints at sea and blockades in ports. Without an arrangement, this will be chaos of the highest order. We need an arrangement, a gentleman’s agreement between both sides that the status quo remains.
“We have already had a taste of what could happen.”
In March, George Eustice the government’s fishing minister gave a stern warning to the European Union, the Royal Navy will be sent out to protect UK waters from EU fishing trawlers.
The Home Office are to provide four vessels and the Royal Navy will provide three more vessels to protect our waters, Eustice said.
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