‘Scallop Wars’ spark ‘battle on high seas’ between French and British boats
THE footage is dramatic: French and British vessels ramming into each other in the middle of the night, fishermen shouting insults, marine flares hurtling through the air.
The showdown on Tuesday marked an escalation of what have become known as the ‘Scallop Wars’.
The two sides are at odds over who can fish in the waters and when – an issue they have fought over for well over a decade. In an effort to help replenish scallop stocks, France permits its fishermen to fish in the area only between October 1 and May 15. But the British are not subject to the same rules.
In the latest instalment of the long-running feud, French and British boats clashed in the English Channel, just off the coast of France. In the early morning hours, French vessels reportedly chased away British boats from the Bay of Seine, an area near Normandy known for its scallop-rich waters.
French officials said there were about 35 French vessels and five British ones caught in the flare-up.
“At about 2am we were surrounded. They fired rocket flares, petrol bombs. Suddenly there was smoke everywhere and the air smelled like gunpowder and sulphur,” said Ciaran Cardell (31), a UK fisherman who fled the scene with the other British boats in the area.
“There were boats on fire, one of their boats got sunk. That’s the closest I’ve ever been to being at war.
“It was like a battle on the high seas. It was crazy,” he said.
British Prime Minister Theresa May yesterday said that she hoped for an “amicable solution” to the dispute. “It’s what we want and it’s what France wants and we will be working on that,” she said.
French officials have said that they will send more boats to police the area, if necessary.
For the past several years, the two sides in the wars over the humble scallop came to an agreement: Larger British vessels – those measuring 15 meters and over – would stay out of closed French fishing waters in exchange for more fishing rights. But this year that deal broke down.
French fishermen accuse the British sailors of having an unfair advantage and plundering their stocks, while the Brits counter that they were doing nothing wrong and accuse the French of piracy.
Normandy fishing chief Dimitri Rogoff said the French vessels were indeed trying to stop the British from fishing in the waters, but just until the season got started again.
“For the Brits, it’s an open bar – they fish when they want, where they want, and as much as they want,” he told the BBC. “We don’t want to stop them from fishing, but they could at least wait until October 1 so that we can share.” (© The Washington Post)