Irish fishermen face a perfect storm if UK demands 'given priority' as charts redrawn for Brexit

Irish fishermen hoped for a brighter future after battling through the recession, but Brexit puts them in uncharted waters. They face losing access to lucrative UK fishing grounds currently in EU waters and problems transporting their catch. The industry already feels it has had a raw deal and doesn't trust the Government to deliver, writes Brexit Correspondent Colm Kelpie

Around a third of Irish landings are taken from UK waters, but it is higher for certain species and nearly double that for mackerel which are at their most valuable when caught off the coast of Scotland. Stock image

Colm Kelpie

Sitting in his office in Greencastle, Co Donegal, John O'Kane points to a map of Ireland and Britain.

A line runs in a diagonal direction, from the Border to the seas off the north- west of Ireland, across to the far north of Scotland and around Britain's eastern side, before snaking up and bisecting the Irish Sea until it reaches the Border again around Warrenpoint/Carlingford.