Britain secured a good deal on fish, says senior member of negotiating team

LONDON (Reuters) - A trade deal between Britain and the European Union is a good agreement for the fisheries industry, allowing it to rebuild itself during a five-and-a-half year transition, a senior member of the UK's negotiating team said on Tuesday.

Fisheries groups have criticised the deal, saying the industry had been sacrificed in the post-Brexit trade talks.

"The deal we've got recognises UK sovereignty over our fishing waters, it says that up front," the senior member of the negotiating team said.

"We think this is a good deal. This enables the fishing industry to rebuild itself during the transition, we are investing 100 million (pounds) into programmes to help modernise the fish processing industry over this period," he said.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper and Paul Sandle)