New border controls and procedures have been confirmed for 2021 as the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Michael Gove, formally notifies the EU that the UK will neither accept nor seek any extension to the Transition Period.

The announcement comes after this morning’s meeting of the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee – the last formal moment to agree an extension to the Transition Period – at which the UK Government confirmed the long-standing position that no such extension would be sought.

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said:

We have been absolutely clear that we would not be extending the transition period. I firmly believe that’s the right thing to do, because Scottish businesses need certainty. They need to know what to plan for. Our focus now must be on making the very most of the global opportunities that leaving the EU will bring to Scotland.

UK Government Minister for Scotland David Duguid added:

Scotland’s entire fishing industry has a bright future as we leave the unfair Common Fisheries Policy. Leaving the EU means that Scotland, and the other Devolved Administrations, will see a significant increase in the decision-making powers in fisheries, and for protecting the marine environment. We are working to support our coastal communities as we, once again, become an independent coastal state.

The Domestic Seafood Supply Scheme was set up in April to help fund projects that will increase the sale and consumption of locally caught seafood. It was a competitive scheme, judged by an independent panel of fishing industry, government and Marine Management Organisation representatives.

The panel has now approved a total of 20 projects that have the potential to deliver significant collective benefits for the seafood industry in England.

The panel has awarded funding to businesses based across the country who submitted a range of innovative ideas to support their local fishing and seafood businesses get their products to market, including new processing operations, on-line auction and sales websites, and local transport solutions.

Projects were selected that could demonstrate they brought the greatest benefit to the industry as a whole, working across communities and regions, or with partners.

Some examples are:

• In the South West, Newlyn Fish Market was awarded funding to create an electronic, cloud-based auction platform meaning local buyers can continue to ‘attend’ auctions and purchase catches.

• In the South East, Yorwarth’s Fresh Fish in East Sussex was awarded funding for processing equipment to be used in a newly created hub to process and distribute locally caught inshore fish. This will mean orders could be distributed quickly and continued to provide a sales outlet for the local inshore fishing fleet.

• In the North East, Riley’s Fish Ltd in North Shields was awarded funding for a refrigerated vehicle allowing them to support fishermen by providing an outlet for their catch to be sold.

A full list of successful applications under the DSSS has been published.

Guidance has also been published on the further support available for the fishing industry.

Atlantic Bluefin tuna is a highly migratory species managed at an international level by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), the Regional Fisheries Management Organisation competent for managing Atlantic Bluefin tuna. Separate Bluefin stocks are understood to exist across different areas of the Atlantic. For several years Eastern Bluefin tuna appeared more or less absent from UK waters.

Sightings by scientists conducting surveys, and by members of the public on fishing vessels and leisure boats suggest potentially increased incidence of Eastern Atlantic Bluefin tuna in UK waters in recent years. The reasons for this are not clear, but could include a shift in distribution due to changes in environmental and prey conditions and/or increasing stock size associated with the stock’s recovery. The UK has funded the Thunnus UK project, as part of the ICCAT Grand Bluefin Tuna Year Programme(GBYP) research activities, to provide a baseline understanding of the ecology of Atlantic Bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in waters of the British Isles. This work is on-going.

The IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) revised their Eastern Atlantic Bluefin tuna entry from “endangered” to “near threatened” in 2015. This reflects the improving state of the stock but underlines the continued need for a cautious approach to its management.

In 2017, ICCAT received advice from its scientific committee (the Standing Committee on Research and Statistics, SCRS) that the stock was increasing and unlikely to be subject to overfishing. However, these assessments and stock projections are acknowledged by SCRS to include a degree of uncertainty relating to a number of biological and ecological aspects of Bluefin tuna life history and the models used. Further information is available in this report.

EU legislation continues to apply for 2020; the UK does not have quota for eastern Bluefin tuna and no commercial UK vessels are authorised to land catches of this stock. Any Bluefin tuna caught by any UK vessel must be returned to the sea, alive and unharmed to the greatest extent possible.

Recreational sea anglers are not permitted to target Bluefin tuna and must release any unintended catches immediately and unharmed.

Bluefin tuna caught as bycatch which are dead must be reported to the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) by contacting the local MMO office, landed whole and unprocessed. Bluefin tuna landed as a result of this requirement must not be sold or given away unless it is for scientific research following approval from the MMO.