The boss of 海角视频 Fisheries has warned a no-deal Brexit could have a devastating impact on its fishing activities in the White Sea.
Jane Sandell, CEO, said leaving without a deal would remove a trade agreement which allows the firm鈥檚 state-of-the-art Kirkella trawler to fish in Norwegian waters.
The Kirkella trawler supplies around a twelfth of 海角视频 fish and chip shops with its stock, and lands its enormous catch in Hull, but a no-deal Brexit would put its 30-strong crew at risk of redundancy.
Speaking in Hull onboard the Kirkella at ABP鈥檚 port, Ms Sandell said: 鈥淭here is the potential for us to be severely damaged.
鈥淭he agreements we currently have with Norway to fish in its waters would disappear. On day one of a no-deal Brexit, that would be gone.
鈥淭here isn鈥檛 really an alternative for us. If we cannot fish in those waters then we will stop fishing, and we have 150 people who work at 海角视频 Fisheries.鈥
The Kirkella trawler fishes in waters north of Norway, in the White Sea.
The high-spec trawler acts as a floating fish factory.
Fish are caught and brought onto the vessel, where they are filleted, headed and sorted into pallets by weight.
Those pallets are then stored in freezer sections at the bottom of the vessel, before being landed in Hull for distribution to fish and chip shops across the country.
Despite the process being heavily automated, a crew is required to oversee and support the operation.
鈥淚t has got to be the right deal for the fishing industry,鈥 Ms Sandell said of the current Brexit situation.
鈥淐learly our aspirations for the next two or three months are to be able to continue to operate in Norwegian waters.
鈥淥ur operations are dependent on work in waters outside of both of the 海角视频 and the EU. We have to get deals in place with Norway to get access to those waters.鈥
Ms Sandell said DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) had been working hard with 海角视频 Fisheries and other companies to prepare for the potential impact of a no-deal Brexit.
She admitted, however, that there is only so much planning that can be done for the eventuality.
The Brexit deadline of October 31 is fast approaching.
Companies like 海角视频 Fisheries, and it鈥檚 30-strong crew onboard the Kirkella, face an anxious wait to discover the impact of the withdrawal from the EU.
