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Jersey fishermen demand French leave waters NOW fearing ‘invasion’ after Brexit
FISHERMEN in Jersey have demanded an immediate end to their agreement with France over management of marine resources, in order to prevent a catastrophe if there is a fishing war between the UK and the EU. Following Brexit, the Channel island is free from the EU's Common Fisheries Policy but is still bound by a bilateral agreement.
Kevin Singleton, 33, who owns a 30-ft trawler to catch scallop, warned: “If Brexit went bad, and the French didn’t get into the UK waters, we’re worried about them dispersing down into the Granville Bay, which is our area.” Scallop, lobster and crab are keeping alive what remains of the wrecked industry after decades under EU restrictions on species like skate and ray – which have surged in recent years, but is not adjusted for by the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy.
Free from the CFP, the fishermen also want out of Treaty of the Bay of Granville, allowing them to take control of their waters.
More than a hundred fishermen marched down the central street of St Helier on 14 February, demanding to scrap the treaty now, before the results are clear of UK trade talks with Brussels.
The treaty was signed in 2000 and gives the French regions of Brittany and Normandy a majority in decisions about fishing restrictions and the right to boost their fleet around the island from today’s 67 to 427.
In St Helier and six other Jersey ports, with a combined fleet of fewer than a hundred boats, there is a fear of a French “invasion”.
Mr Singleton said: “It’s really worrying. The stocks can’t take it. We’re having bad years. Not much stuff coming up at all.
“Our waters just can’t take that amount of effort. The French fleet is very very good at what they do.”
His trawler is one of just a few larger vessels left on the island and will face tough competition in the event of a fishing war.
He added: “We haven’t seen the effect of the trawling side of the fleet yet, but we know how efficient the French fleet is.
And if they do decide to turn their attention to Jersey waters it’s really worrying for me.”
Despite never being in the EU, they have had to follow quotas from Brussels under the London Fisheries Convention, limiting their access to abundant stocks of species like skates.
Mr Singleton continued: "It's a rocky coastline, and it's a favourable habitat for those fish. They are in absolute abundance. They've told us we can have 20 kilos. Maybe two fish per trip. But you can't go out there for two fish.
"You're not allowed to catch half of it, under the EU rules. You’ve got to throw it back. It's in abundance, some of the skates and rays. You can have forty or fifty fish in each haul, and they're all going back dead.
"The problem is the quotas from Brussels don't match what's there.
"They put bans on certain species for whole areas but it should be more regional. They should pinpoint the areas that are genuinely under threat and protect them."
While Boris Jonson’s administration is in negotiations with Brussels over a trade agreement, Jersey is in the midst of its own talks, about a better deal with Brittany and Normandy for the sea.
The parties met in Paris for talks at the end of February.
Assistant Minister for the Environment Gregory Guida wants to wait and see the outcome of the UK’s trade talks first before Jersey makes any bold claims.
Mr Guida said: “It’s about international relations. We are trying to have good relations with France. “This treaty has to be balanced before the UK starts to properly fight. If it’s difficult, and nobody likes it, we’re not going to fight for it.”
Mr Guida, who took part in the talks in Paris in late February, thinks a “fishing war” scenario is manageable.
He said: “We need more control over conservation of stocks. And number two, we have to make sure that there cannot be this huge influx whatever happens outside, we need to be protected.”
Talks usually take place every other year, but this year parties have already met twice, with another meeting planned in the near future, possibly in London.
Mr Guida says he pushed the French side hard.
“I think the French got the message,” he said.
Källa/ Länk: Express (UK)