Q&A

What happened?

In the early hours of Tuesday, around 40 French ships encircled a handful of British boats in the Bay of Seine, off the coast of Normandy. Boats rammed each other and the French fishermen hurled everything from flares to insults at their British counterparts.

What does the law say?

What is crystal clear is that the British fishermen were doing nothing wrong. Under the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy, any member state with a registered fleet – including Britain – has ‘equal access’ to EU waters, which start 12 nautical miles off the shore of other countries.

However, French scallop fishermen face an extra restriction from their government which bans them over the summer, to prevent overfishing and allow scallop stocks to replenish.

This does not apply to the British, and, since the scallop-rich waters of the Bay of Seine stretch beyond the 12-mile limit, UK fishermen are not breaking any law by filling their nets there. The French concede this, but believe it is unfair that UK boats can pick the best scallops while they can only watch.

What has kept the peace until now?

A ‘gentleman’s agreement’ has been in place since the scallop wars of 2009 and 2010. After those clashes, the Bay of Seine Agreement was struck between

the UK and French scallop industries. Larger British vessels agreed not to enter the French fishing waters at certain times of year in exchange for the French handing over some of their allocation of fishing days.

Under the Common Fisheries Policy, each country’s fleet is allowed a certain number of days to fish, but these can be traded.

Jim Portus, chief executive of the South Western Fish Producers Organisation, said: ‘We said to the French, we will go away for August, September and October, if you give us about 30 extra fishing days from your allocation.’ Why did the deal end?

The Bay of Seine Agreement only ever applied to larger boats, over 15 metres (49ft) in length. According to Mr Portus, it fell apart this summer because the French wanted to extend it to vessels under 15 metres.

Why are the French fishermen restricted?

The Gallic authorities say the closed scallop season prevents overfishing and allows the scallops to spawn in peace.

Although scallops are not endangered, fishermen must follow complex rules covering the size of equipment, the type of dredgers, the size of scallops they can harvest and how many days they spend at sea each year.

Each EU nation may dredge for scallops in its own coastal waters and in any international waters – but countries can set their own restrictions. British boats are banned from fishing for scallops in the Irish Sea from June to the end of October, but there is nothing to stop a French boat looking for scallops there in the summer.

Who polices the area?

There is a divide in the middle of the English Channel known as the median line, with Britain and France overseeing their own sides. Parts of the Bay of Seine scalloping grounds may be beyond the 12-mile limit, but they are on the French side of the median line, meaning Paris is responsible for policing any clashes.

However, the British fishermen say the French navy was there on Tuesday but did nothing but take photographs.

Is Brexit a factor?

French fishermen are deeply worried about losing access to the rich supply of fish in British waters after Brexit. Some spend 80 per cent of their time in UK waters.

In theory, Britain will leave the Common Fisheries Policy and will regain control of its territorial waters, so will be free to set its quotas and decide who is allowed to fish where. As a result, tensions are running high and some blamed this week’s sea skirmishes on the wider battle for fishing rights.