October 18, 2018 — Speaking to the House of Lords EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee, the Environment Secretary said that 60 people, including members of the navy, will be needed to protect Britain’s fishing waters.
It comes months after Cornish fishermen and their French counterparts agreed a truce in the so-called ‘scallop wars‘ over prime fishing territory in the Baie de Seine, north of Normandy.
Mr Gove said: “We’ve presented a business case to the treasury, outlining the additional capacity that we need. Both ships and also aviation but also staff.
“We’ll need to recruit potentially another sixty people to work in fisheries protection work, we’re in the process of recruiting those people now.
“They’ll need three months training in order to get people to be ready and effective to do their job.
“We’ll get some of that capacity from the private sector, but it’s also the case we will need some capacity from the Royal Navy.”
He also said that people who want to be “absolutely certain” they can take their pets abroad in the Easter holidays after Brexit should see their vet in November.
Mr Gove said the UK becoming an “unlisted third country” after a no-deal Brexit would lead to onerous new measures for pet owners.
The scenario for what replaces the current pet travel scheme is the most unlikely, he told peers, as it is usually only applied to countries with a real risk of disease.
But he said: “If you want to be absolutely certain you can take your pet abroad and you’re worried about the worst case scenario and you’re taking your pet abroad for example during the Easter holidays then you should see your vet.