As Brexit trade negotiations were dragging on at the start of the year, a lot of the discourse focused on perceived inequities in fishing rights. I felt there was a story in the data that could add depth and detail to the narrative. Despite having the largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of all EU countries, and some of the richest fishing grounds, UK fleets are restricted to relatively modest catches.
The Common Fisheries Policy provides EU states with mutual access to each other's fishing grounds but sets quotas based largely on catch figures from 40 years ago, which today seem arbitrary. Earlier this year, the UK government was pushing to reverse this by proposing a "zonal attachment" model, where quotas would be carved up relative to the abundance of fish in each country's waters.