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Farming Today: 26/02/02 Distant waters fishing fleet and quotas, river rubbish, Farmer Time.

26/02/02 Distant waters fishing fleet and quotas, river rubbish, Farmer Time.

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 26/02/02 Distant waters fishing fleet and quotas, river rubbish, Farmer Time.

Distant fishing fleet and fishing minister on quota deals, river rubbish and Farmer Time.

The distant waters fishing fleet is catching a fifth of what it did pre-Brexit. Trawlers want reassurance from fishing minister. River rubbish as wildlife habitat and Farmer Time.

The owners of a Hull-based trawler, which catches about 1 in 10 of every fish we buy from the chippy, warn they will be forced to stop fishing unless the government sorts out quotas.

The Kirkella forms most of the UK’s distant waters fleet - she can take 12 tonnes of fish in one haul and then process and freeze it in an onboard factory. 

But since Brexit the UK has no fishing deal with Norway, in whose waters The Kirkella fishes. It all used to be negotiated by the EU, now the UK has left, we need our own agreement - which hasn't happened yet.

Jane Sandell from UK Fisheries which owns the trawler, says unless that changes, The Kirkella and its 100 crew members are in trouble. She's seeking reassurances from the fisheries minister Victoria Prentis who says there should be a deal in the next couple of weeks.

Call to get more farmers in classrooms - virtually. A scheme which enables school children to see and speak to their local farmers wants to sign up more producers. Farmer Time gets farmers to speak to pupils in the classroom via video link. It says it's got a long list of teachers, but needs to recruit more farmers.

New research says rubbish in our rivers actually benefits some wildife. Hazel Wilson at the University of Nottingham says she's discovered that there's a greater diversity of invertebrates living in water with waste than in those without. She says when rubbish is removed, we need to think about what could replace it as a habitat.

Presented by Charlotte Smith
Produced by Rebecca Rooney

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