FISHERMEN have been informed that they may have to wait as long as April before they will be able to start selling fish to France.

Due to administrative difficulties and a lack of paperwork, the Government has informed fishermen that it will be unlikely they will be able to start trading overseas for another four months.

The delay is expected to negatively impact fishermen in Cumbria, as well as across the nation.

The administrative errors have come as the UK leaves EU regulations which allowed fishermen to trade with companies on the continent.

This month, businesses have seen an increase of market access by 15%, however they will also be experiencing the new trading rules, which were brought in as part of the UK's new relationship with the European Union, following the end of negotiations last year.

MP Tim Farron has voiced support for local fishermen as the delay was announced and calls for intervention to shorten the wait before trade can go forward.

Tim wrote on social media: “Local fishermen in Flookburgh have been told they won’t be able to sell into France until late April because the Government haven’t got the correct paperwork in place.

“This is unacceptable and threatens livelihoods.

“I’ve written to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary demanding he intervenes.”

The delay in paper work needed for trading is a cause of frustration for local fishermen and calls are being made for the Government to speed up the process so that trade can resume.

Since leaving the European Union on January 31, 2020, Great Britain no longer has also left the EU Common Fisheries Policy which set limits on the number of fish the UK was allowed to catch.

Quotas were set with the intention of preventing overfishing and ensure that fish stocks were maintained.

This permitted EU member states to place limits on which countries could fish in their territorial waters, and up to 100 nautical miles fishing was restricted to those who traditionally fished there.

The UK is currently in a five-year transitional period where EU nations can continue to fish in UK waters.

This period will end on June 30 2026.