Tensions between Britain and France over fishing rights eased Thursday night (May 6) when Britain withdrew two naval warships from waters around the British island of Jersey where French fishermen were protesting.
About two dozen French trawlers sailed to Jersey on Thursday morning, releasing hot flaming bombs, flashing flags and demanding access to Jersey waters. French fishermen said they were barred from entering the waters around the British possession. Jersey is off the northern coast of France.
Ludovic Lazaro, a French trawler who took part in the protest, told AFP: “We are here today because we have always fished here. We have been fishing here, but overnight they took away our fishing rights.”
A French fishing boat briefly entered Jersey’s main port. Jersey is a self-governing island and a “Crown Dependency,” meaning that Britain is responsible for the island’s defense.
Britain sent two warships to local waters to “monitor the situation,” while France sent two maritime patrol boats to French waters near Jersey. The British and French ships maintain a distance of about 20 kilometers.
“Given that the situation has now been defused, Royal Navy offshore patrol ships will be prepared to return to port in the United Kingdom,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement. “We remain on standby to provide further assistance in relation to Jersey’s request.”
Dimitri Rogoff, president of the French fisheries commission for the Normandy region, said, “The show of force is over. Now it’s time to take the baton from politics.”
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James Kane, a fisheries expert at the Institute for Improved Government, a British nonprofit organization, mentioned that the Brexit deal reached between the U.K. and the EU specifically includes provisions regarding Jersey’s fishing grounds.
French vessels that fished in Jersey waters for at least 10 days during 2017 and 2020 have the right to continue to do so in the future,” Kane told the Voice of America. What seems to have happened is that the Jersey authorities have taken a very restrictive approach, requiring proof that you have fished in the last three years and to prove how many fish have been caught.”
Ian Gorst, the Jersey government’s minister for external relations, insisted that the Jersey authorities were enforcing the right regulations.
“The new post-Brexit agreement makes it clear that evidence must be provided about the nature and extent of historic fishing rights,” he told Sky News on Thursday. “We want to enable French fishermen to prove that they had previous historical rights to fish in our waters. But the evidence has to be provided.”
French Maritime Minister Annick Girardin threatened to cut off Jersey’s power supply when he spoke to lawmakers in France’s National Assembly.
“We are ready to use these retaliatory measures,” Girardin said Tuesday. “Europe, France has the means. It’s written into the agreement. So, in the case of Jersey, I would like to remind you of, for example, the power delivered by submarine cables.”
Britain’s minister, Nadhim Zahawi, said Thursday that the government would seek to resolve the dispute.
Zahawi told Sky News, “(We will) work together to make sure that at the operational level on the ground, we straighten out any issues so that this historic agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union, one of the most important agreements we have ever reached, can serve the people, serve the communities and serve the fishing community.”
Analyst Kane said fishing accounts for less than 1 percent of the U.K. and European economies, but is culturally and politically powerful.
“After all, fishermen are the only people in the modern economy who are still hunter-gatherers,” Kane said.
“They go out and seek food and bring it back. So there’s a certain pristine dimension to fishing, and maybe that makes it a little sensitive,” he added. “In addition to that, fishing is deeply rooted in coastal communities. People seem to be particularly concerned about fishing, and that level of concern is grossly out of proportion to its economic importance. And politically, too. Frankly, it’s useful for both sides to promote this story because it can resonate so much.”
Analysts say the conflict over fishing is likely to continue as Britain tries to follow through on its Brexit promise to “regain control” of its waters and borders.
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