The EU is taking legal action against the UK as a huge new fishing row erupts.
In January, the UK announced a ban on catching sand eels on Dogger Bank in the North Sea in order to protect the population of puffins and kittiwakes.
It caused outrage among Danish and Swedish fisherman, with their governments lobbying the EU to take action on their behalf. It is the first time the EU has triggered the dispute mechanism post-Brexit.
Denmark has said that the ban is discrimination against its fisherman because they are responsible for 99 percent of the sand eels caught.
The eels are then used to produce fish oil and pig feed. The ban could cost them up to £15million a year.
Virginijus Sinkevičius, the EU’s fisheries commissioner, warned minister to drop the ban and said it “impinges on the basic commitments” of the Brexit trade deal.
He said: “The UK’s permanent closure of the sand eel fishery deprives EU vessels from fishing opportunities, but also impinges on basic commitments under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA). Healthy sand eel stocks are not just vital for the delicate balance of our marine ecosystems, but also for the livelihoods of our fishers.”
The Government said its ban is fully compliant with the post-Brexit agreement, which manages cross-channel fishing opportunities and applies to both EU and UK vessels.
A spokesman said: “We took the decision to close our North Sea waters to all sand eel fishing to protect seabirds. This closure is fully compliant with our obligations under the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement and applies equally to UK and non-UK vessels.
“This was a necessary step to safeguard vulnerable seabird populations, including species like kittiwakes who are at serious risk, and builds on domestic measures already in place – the UK has not allocated any quota to fish sand eel to UK vessels in three years.”
The demand for consultations by the EU is the first step in the dispute settlement mechanism in the Brexit trade deal. If a deal isn’t brokered within the 30 days, Brussels can request independent arbitration to judge whether the measures are in line with the deal.
Under the deal, Britain agreed to give EU vessels continued access to its waters, but is allowed to restrict access as part of conservation measures. If there is deemed to be a breach, the EU could slap tariffs on UK exports to redress the changes of access.
