British and French fishermen have reached an agreement in the so-called Scallop Wars over fishing in the Channel that 'satisfies the honour of fishermen on both sides'.
The Government has agreed that UK ships will not fish scallops in French waters in return for 'reasonable compensation' following clashes at sea between rival boats.
Tensions boiled over last week when five British vessels sparred with dozens of French boats in the sensitive Seine Bay, with video footage showing fishermen from both sides ramming each other.
But following a day of talks in London, the two sides have reached agreement on the principles of a deal that should bring the hostilities to an end.
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Jim Portus, the chief executive of Britain's South Western Fish Producers Organisation, said the deal 'satisfies the honour of fishermen on both sides'
The clashes, which occurred around 12 nautical miles from the Normandy coastline, were the most serious in years of wrangling over the area's prized scallops.
'The UK and French fishing industries and governments held constructive talks today about scallop fishing in the eastern Channel including Baie de Seine,' the British and French governments said in a joint statement.
'An agreement on the principles of a deal has been reached,' they said.
French fishermen were incensed that British boats were accessing the highly productive waters, while their own government limited them to fishing there to between October and May to allow stocks to replenish.
Deals struck previously exempted British boats less than 15 metres (50 feet) long from the restrictions, a loophole French fishermen want to see closed and which led to deadlock in reaching an agreement earlier this year.
'The previous agreement involving the UK 15-metre-and-over fleet will be renewed,' the joint statement said.
French fisherman Dimitri Rogoff speaks to the media before leaders meet in London
'In addition, there is agreement in principle for UK under-15-metre vessels to be included in the deal.
'This is subject to a reasonable compensation package, the details of which will be defined in Paris on Friday.
'In the meantime, there is a voluntary agreement for all UK vessels to respect the French closure period in the Baie de Seine.'
Jim Portus, the chief executive of Britain's South Western Fish Producers Organisation, said the deal 'satisfies the honour of fishermen on both sides'.
The agreement-in-process will prevent the smaller British ships taking advantage of the May to October window, but Portus said the talks will only be finalised if British fishermen are fully compensated.
'If it's not good enough on Friday, it will be rejected,' he said.
Asked if the French apologised, Portus said: 'Regret was voiced before we started our negotiations.'
He added to that UK fishermen have been urged to avoid the Bay de Seine until the agreement is signed on Friday.
'Until the deal is signed on Friday, we are asking them to avoid the area (Bay de Seine) for the next two days,' he told Sky News.
Mark Powell, whose boat the Golden Fleece II was caught up in the so-called 'Scallop Wars' last week, claims he is being unfairly targeted by French authorities to punish British crews
'Then we will see details of the deal on Friday. Quite frankly if it's not good enough it'll still be rejected.
'The owners of the vessels have got to know they are going to be as well-off in terms of their income from where they are allowed to fish.
'This is a small area of the English channel from which they will be excluded for about three weeks.'
British and French officials and fishing industry representatives met in London to try and prevent further conflicts over scallop fishing.
The talks follow an incident last week in which French and British fishermen angrily bumped boats over access to fisheries off the French coast.
About 35 French boats confronted five British ones, sometimes banging hulls, in international waters during the incident.
UK crews reported rocks, smoke bombs and other projectiles were hurled at them during the confrontation.
Some of the fishermen from both sides also rammed each other, video footage showed.
French fishermen are seen throwing rocks at a British boat off Normandy coast last week
British Fisheries Minister George Eustice said the goal of the talks is to reach a new agreement that would prevent more confrontations.
An agreement reached in 2013 has broken down, leading to the clashes.
The clashes have occurred in a scallop-rich area known as the Baie de Somme, off the coast of Normandy.
National regulations allow British ships to fish legally in the area all year round but French fishermen are banned from taking the molluscs between May 15 and October 1 to conserve stocks.
Meanwhile, the British skipper of one of the boats attacked by French trawlermen is facing a £9,000 fine after being accused of illegally fishing a small number of under-sized scallops.
Mark Powell, whose boat the Golden Fleece II was caught up in the so-called 'Scallop Wars' last week, claims he is being unfairly targeted by French authorities in order to punish British crews.
Footage shows French fishing rivals using a petrol bomb to stop their UK counterparts catching scallops in the English Channel
He was arrested and detained by French authorities who boarded his boat and confiscated his £20,000 catch which they say included €180 (£162) of under-sized scallops.
EU laws intended to protect sea life forbid fishermen from catching scallop under around four inches in length so they can grow large enough to spawn.
But Mr Powell, 49, denies catching any under-sized scallops and said the French were simply 'looking for technicalities all the time to have a go at the British fleet'.
He faces a court hearing in two weeks where he could be fined €10,000 (£8,954) if found guilty over the incident in Le Havre last September.
Mr Powell's boat was involved in a clash with a 40-strong flotilla of French vessels which surrounded them off the coast of Normandy in the early hours of Tuesday.
But scallops aren't the only thing that is causing tension.
On Monday, two French boats based in Normandy caught 44 tuna fish while hunting for bream off the Channel Islands - adding to already simmering tensions between the two nations.
The tuna, each weighing between 50kg and 120kg and worth more than £100,000 in total, were then brought ashore at Granville in France to be sold.
British and French fishermen are at loggerheads over scallops and have clashed off the coast of Normandy and Jersey over tuna
Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks are managed by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).
French fishermen are allowed to keep bluefin tuna while their British counterparts are banned from doing it.
The bluefins are usually only found in the Bay of Biscay and Mediterranean but rising water temperatures are sending more into UK waters.
The UK has no quota to catch bluefin tuna but France, Spain, Croatia, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Malta and Cyprus do.
France's agriculture minister Stephane Travert said yesterday that the French navy is 'ready to step in' if more clashes break out.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the comments were in line with Environment Secretary Michael Gove's position that it was for the French to take any steps needed to prevent violence in the area.
Linkhienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/09/06/uk-fishing-chief-hints-fishermen-could-reject-deal/
Main photo article British and French fishermen have reached an agreement in the so-called Scallop Wars over fishing in the Channel that ‘satisfies the honour of fishermen on both sides’.
The Government has agreed that UK ships will not fish scallops in French waters in return for ‘reasonable ...
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Dianne Reeves Online news HienaLouca
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