LONDON - The United Kingdom is pulling out of an agreement that permits fishermen from five other countries to operate in its waters, the first step in reasserting control over its fishing industry as it prepares to leave the European Union.

The government announced on Sunday it will trigger the two-year process of leaving the London Fisheries Convention, which allows vessels from France, Belgium, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands to fish between 11 and 22 kilometers off the UK coastline.

The UK signed the convention before it joined the EU and would be bound by its terms after leaving the bloc unless it starts to withdraw from the treaty now.