No Norway fishing deal this year, Hull MP claims

The Hull-based super trawler Kirkella has been unable to fish since December

A deal to allow UK trawlers to fish in Norwegian waters will not happen until at least next year, an MP has claimed.

Talks about access broke down in April and Hull Labour MP Karl Turner said the fisheries minster told him in a recent meeting there would be "no negotiations for the rest of this year".

Mr Turner had met Victoria Prentis to discuss Hull trawler Kirkella, which has been unable to fish since Brexit.

The government said any fisheries deal had to be "in the interests of the UK".

Mr Turner, the MP for Hull East, and Emma Hardy, Labour MP for Hull West and Hessle, said the meeting was aimed at asking the government to restart negotiations with Norway about fishing rights.

"We're deeply proud of our city's fishing heritage in Hull - and rightly so. But it deserves to be part of our future, too, and the government needs to get back around the negotiating table to allow that to happen," said Mr Turner.

"Failure to do so would be a national embarrassment," he added.

'Fair offer'

The 266ft (81m) super trawler Kirkella catches up to 2.3 million fish in each week-long trip in waters off the coasts of Norway, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

Its owners, UK Fisheries, said the trawler supplied between 8-12% of all fish sold in UK fish and chip shops and warned of an increased reliance on imports from Norway or Iceland without an agreement.

The vessel has been moored in Hull docks since December.

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs said: "We have always been clear that we will only strike agreements if they are balanced and in the interests of the UK fishing industry, unlike previous EU arrangements which were highly imbalanced and not in the UK's overall interests.

"We put forward a fair offer to Norway on access to UK waters and the exchange of fishing quotas. While they did not take this up, Norway continues to be a key partner and we will continue to work with them over the course of the year."