b'AUGUST 23 - SEPTEMBER 5, 2021NORTH AMERICAS TRANSPORTATION & LOGISTICS NEWSPAPER 11UK fishing industry forced to adapt to post-Brexit paradigm By Matt Miller, AJOTBritishfishermenwerethe EU.among the most vocal BrexitEspecially when it comes supporters,longchafingattoshellfish,theUKindus-whattheybelievedtobetryisdominatedbysmaller unfairEUpracticesthatcuttraders. They were especially into their catch. These samehardhit,caughtcompletely communities, however, wereunpreparedforthebureau-lividtodiscoverinDecem- craticpaperworknecessary ber that Prime Minister Boristoexportfreshfoodtothe Johnsonhadagreedtoa5EU.Thisbecameespecially 1/2-yearextensionofEUproblematicsincetheytend fishing rights in UK waters,to combine exports together. withthepossibility ofaddi- Onefishermanmight tionalconcessionsfurtherland some crab, another some EUROPEAN TRADE 2021 down the road. This givebacklobster,anothersomelan-wasanessentialpartofthegoustines,andinthegood deal hammered out to allow aold days of 2020, they were free-trade agreement betweenrelativelyeasytobundle the UK and EU. The agree- up, explained Aoife Martin, Post-Brexit trade challengingmentcameonChristmasoperationsdirectoratSea-Eve last year, just one weekfresh,aUKpublicagency before Brexit took effect. supporting the industry. But logistics sector to adapt Throughout the fishingifyouvegotlotsofthose industry there is a profoundsmaller operations, the logis-ScrappingKermits,fines,mountainsofcustomdocuments,senseofdisillusionment,ticsbehindnotjustgetting driver shortages,phased implementation and new shipping routesbetrayal, and fury that afterthat product and exporting it alltherhetoric,promisesfresh, but getting that product are all part of post-Brexit tradewith lots more changes to come. andassurances,thegov- and getting it through the new ernmentcaved-inonfish,system is significant.By Matt Miller, AJOT TheNationalFederationofIn January, many distribu-FishermensOrganisationstors either didnt try to export Inlate April,theBritishtoContinentalEurope,fear- Leheny,policymanagerforsaidinastatementshortlyor gave up after initial frus-governmentremovedwithing long delays, and in partNorthernIrelandatLogis- aftertheagreementwastration.Storiesofexpansive great fanfare a much-malignedbecause traders recoiled fromticsUK,atradeassociationannounced. The best oppor- delays and expensive, spoiled bitofBrexittrade-relatedthetime-consumingprocessrepresentingfreighttrans- tunityinagenerationforashipmentsunderscoredtheir bureaucracy, when authoritiesof clearing cargo for export. port.Over200dayslater,differentandbetterfutureunwillingnesstotry.After scrapped Kermits.Morethanahalfyearthesupplychainhasntcol- has been squandered. a couple of attempts at trad-In order to drive throughafter Brexit ended borderlesslapsed. Its got stronger. AndHowever,noteventheing,somebusinessesjust thecountyofKent,trucktrade between the UK and thethatshowstheresilienceofmostpessimisticcriticscouldstoppedbecausetheycould driverswererequiredtoEU, the bestthat can be saidthe industry. imaginejusthowbadlysee it was just too chaotic and obtain permits that proved theabout commerce and logisticsButthatdoesntmeantheinitialdaysofBrexitthey thought they were better haulers had pre-cleared cus- is that it hasnt been nearly asitsnowcompletelysmoothwould hammer the UK fish- offwaiting,saidMartin. toms to the European Union,horrificassomehadfearedgoing. Whats more, much ofing industry. In the first twoShellfishishighlyperish-and several hundred had beenandthoseDecembertrafficwhat the British governmentmonthsofthisyear,shell- able,sothereisntmuch fined 300 (pounds) each forjams had presaged.hasblithelylabeledteeth- fishexportsplummetedbyroom for maneuver if things nothavingthepaperwork.Therewerealotofing problems appears to be74%,whilesalmonexportsdo end up getting delayed at Kent is where both Dover andpeopleatthestartofJanu- around for the long term. dropped a jaw-dropping 80%.the border.theEurotunnelarelocated.arywhoweresayingthatThingshavechangedIn 2019, the last normalThenewregulationscame TheM20motorwayleadingthe supply chain to Northernandtheyvechangedforyear,UKseafoodexportsatthemostinopportuneof to the vital Channel crossingIreland was going to collapsegood,saidAidanFlynn,totaledjustover2billiontimes.Aswithothertrade, atDoverwasanightmarishwithin five days, crazy state- (ADAPTcontinued onpounds, some 74% of which(PARADIGMcontinued on sceneofmonumentaltraf- ments like that, said Seamuspage 12) byvolumewasdestinedtopage 13)fic jams in the days leading up to January 1, when Brexit took effect. The French, wor-ried about the spread of a new strainofCOVID-19,closed theirportstohaulersfrom Britainfortwodaysbegin-ning December 21.Inliftingtheneedfor Kentaccesspermits,com-monlyknownasKermits, the Department for Transpor-tation trumpeted what it said was normal levels of trade.Hardly.True,trafficmayhave beenoperatingwell.How-ever,thatbeliedallsortsof post-Brexit realities: The Brit-ish government delayed cus-toms checks on imports until January1,2022.COVID-19had decimated tourist traf-ficbetweenBritainandthe EU. A truck driver shortage, made more acute by COVID-19, has limited the number of available haulers. And, Brit-ishexportshadplummeted. That was made all the worse because, in part, truck drivers wererefusingtotakeloads'