Scallop Wars II
French fishermen ‘throw frying pans and fire flares’ at British rivals as tensions rise again off Normandy
BRITISH fishermen were pelted with ‘frying pans and rocks’ by French rivals as they clashed over scallops in the Channel.
The skippers of two British boats told yesterday of how they were surrounded by up to 20 French vessels.
They said the French also fired flares and threw oil in the confrontation off the coast of Normandy at 1.30am on Monday.
Tensions between the countries have been high in the Bay of Seine for more than a decade. UK boats are entitled to fish in the scallop-rich area, but their presence has long angered the French, who accuse the British of depleting stocks of the shellfish.
The previous major clash was in August 2018 when a dozen British vessels were surrounded by a 40- strong French flotilla and boats smashed into each other.
Monday’s incident will raise fears of a violent new ‘Scallop War’ erupting – and comes as tempers are running high over fishing rights in the Brexit trade talks.
The French had believed the British would ignore scallop fishing this season because of Brexit and confusion over international laws. Before Monday’s incident, Dimitri Rogoff, president of the Normandy Fisheries Committee, said: ‘We haven’t seen the English this year – obviously they have decided not to come.’
He added that in the middle of the Brexit process, ‘ the British are no longer in a position where they can put forward European law to defend their behaviour’.
The British boats targeted in Monday’s skirmish were the Golden Promise, skippered by Brian Whittington, and the Girl Macey, skippered by Scott Glover. Both are based in Brixham, Devon.
Mr Whittington, 43, said: ‘We were about two miles apart and I had two or three boats around me. Scott had 15 around him, they were throwing oil at him and firing flares.’
He said he was ‘expecting it’ and the French ‘only do it in the dark’, adding: ‘We can’t use the radio when they do it as they just talk over us instantly, so I couldn’t check on Scott to see how he was.’
Mr Whittington said he would return to the scene – a ten-hour voyage – to continue fishing for scallops so he can earn his livelihood. He added: ‘We don’t fight back – if we start throwing things at them then it will be our fault and not theirs.’
Mr Glover has returned to sea, and was not available to comment.
‘They only do it in the dark’
Derek Meredith, owner of the Golden Promise, said a flare could set a boat on fire and risk lives.
He said the French ‘shouldn’t be doing what they’re doing but they seem to get away with it every year’, rejected their claims British boats were fishing in the wrong place as ‘a load of rubbish’, and called on the Royal Navy to help.
French authorities contacted by the Daily Mail, including police and the coastguard, said they had not received any reports of trouble between rival boats on Monday.
Under the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy, any member state with a registered fleet has ‘equal access’ to EU waters, which start 12 nautical miles off the shore of other countries.
But French scallop fishermen face an extra restriction from their government which bans them from fishing over the summer, from May 15 to October 1, to prevent overfishing and to allow stocks to replenish.
Because 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.
A ‘gentleman’s agreement’ was put in place after the scallop wars of 2009 and 2010 under which larger British vessels agreed not to enter the French fishing waters at certain times of the year, in exchange for the French handing over some of their allocation of fishing days.