Fisheries Versus the Environment Under Cover of a Trade Dispute: EU–UK Sandeel Case

Abstract In March 2024, the UK prohibited, within its waters, the industrial fishing of sandeel with the aim of protecting and restoring the marine ecosystems dependent on this keystone species. The EU then used the dispute settlement mechanism of the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement to initiate arbitration. Fisheries and environmental protection were thus set against each other, ostensibly in the framework of a trade treaty. This paper analyses this unusual case, concluding that it is a clear illustration of why fisheries and environment law and policy should be not be in legal silos, and why the relatively small fisheries sector should no longer be (i) given undue weight in international trade or (ii) treated as an exception alongside such areas as energy or security, and above all should be reframed to create a truly sustainable food security and jobs model.