Sandeel: Brexit row fishing heads for trade court showdown

Sandeel, a group of small eel-like fish species, is a fish stock managed together in a trade deal. Not caught for culinary reasons and is unlikely to be found on the menu of restaurants in the capital of Europe.

But it is the favorite food of other fish species like cod and haddock, as well as endangered sea birds such as puffins and kittiwake.

The UK will effectively stop its own vessels from fishing for the species from 2021 through its licensing regime, as it is required to prevent overfishing and protect the North Sea ecosystem.

Rishi Sunak’s Conservative government then banned all vessels from catching the species in UK marine waters in March last year, with a similar ban in Scottish waters brought in by ministers in the SNP-led Scottish government.

It won praise from Britain’s conversation group, which has long campaigned for an outright ban, and Sir Keir’s Labor government has maintained the ban since taking power in July.

But that upset Danish fishermen, who sell sandeel to animal feed and fish oil producers and under post-Brexit trade conditions have the right to fish a large share of the EU species in UK waters.