DUBLIN, July 2 (Xinhua) -- The Irish government said on Sunday the decision by the British government to withdraw from the 1964 London Fisheries Convention is "unwelcome and unhelpful".
In response to the British decision, Irish Agriculture Minister Michael Creed said it is a part of Brexit and will be considered by the EU's remaining 27 member states and the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier team when the negotiations commence.
But Creed said the move will have no immediate effect as the withdrawal process from the convention will take two years and will form part of the Brexit negotiations.
The convention grants rights to neighboring countries to fish in each other's 6 to 12 miles fishing zones based on historic fishing activity. The Irish fishing fleet has access to parts of Britain's 6-12 mile zone as has the British fleet to parts of the Irish zone.
"These access rights were incorporated into the EU Common Fisheries Policy when we joined the EU," Creed said in a statement.
"Brexit poses very serious challenges to the seafood sector and this announcement will form part of the negotiations," he said.
On Sunday, the British government announced its withdrawal from an arrangement that allows other countries to fish in British waters.
"Leaving the London Fisheries Convention is an important moment as we take back control of our fishing policy. It means for the first time in more than 50 years we will be able to decide who can access our waters," British Environment Secretary Michael Gove said.
According to 2015 figures, the British fishing industry is made up of more than 6,000 vessels, landing 708,000 tonnes of fish worth 775 million pounds (1.02 billion U.S. dollars). About 10,000 tonnes of fish were caught by other countries under the London convention, worth an estimated 17 million pounds (22.44 million dollars).
