SCALLOP WARS
UK vessels can enter French zone, it’s not illegal..this is clear piracy
Foreign flotilla attacks Brit boats
THE SNP Government called for “calm and dialogue” yesterday after French fishermen were involved in an alarming clash with a Scottish-registered boat.
It follows a simmering row over access to scallops in the English Channel near the coast of France.
One Scots fishing industry leader said the incident, involving up to 40 French boats, was piracy.
A flotilla of about 40 French ships ambushed a dozen British boats in the Channel early on Tuesday morning.
Rocks, smoke bombs and other projectiles were allegedly hurled at Scottish and English vessels during the shocking attack which was caught on camera.
Yesterday, the sailors involved in the shocking sea battle vowed to carry on fishing in the those waters.
One of the boats involved in the clash was said to be the Honeybourne III, a Scottish scallop dredger, along with two ships from Brixham harbour, the Golden Promise and Joanna C. The Golden Promise had a window smashed by an airborne can, while another suffered fire damage after a flare was thrown at it.
Brian Whittington, skipper of the Brixham-based trawler, vowed to continue fishing in the same spot. He said: “It was scary – I’ve never experienced anything like it. Shackles, flares, rocks were being thrown.
“We always fish with the Joanna C but we’re a bigger boat and I was scared for them. But they did well to get out of there. It won’t stop us – we’ll go back.
“It’s international waters – we’re allowed there. Maybe the Royal Navy could help us next time.”
Nathan Clark, skipper of the Joanna C, said the incident off the Normandy coast was very scary.
He revealed his 17-year-old nephew Callum Clark had to take shelter after being pelted with flares and rocks. Nathan said: “It was 3.30am in the dark and we were being pelted and rammed. My nephew Callum was petrified – it’s his first year on the boats and he was scared for his life.”
The long-running dispute centres on part of the Channel from which French fishermen cannot harvest scallops until later in the year, due to domestic environmental laws.
Dramatic footage broadcast by France 3 Normandie showed boats colliding as tensions finally boiled over.
Peterhead-registered boat Honeybourne III was among the British vessels in the channel when trouble flared.
Skipper David Marr was legally fishing around 20 miles from the coast of Normandy.
Mike Park, chief executive of the Scottish White Fish Producers Association, said the incident was “clear piracy”.
He added: “He’s fully entitled
to be there. UK vessels can enter that French zone. It’s not illegal.” Jim Portis, chief executive of the South Western Fish Producers’s Organisation, said: “The French action was entirely illegal and the British action was lawful and properly administered.”
Talks are due to take place in France over access to scallops today. The dispute centres on UK vessels getting access all year while French laws prohibit the local fleet from catching scallops over the summer.
The Scottish Government said: “We are aware of reports of conflicts involving Scottish, other UK and French vessels in the English Channel. There needs to be calm and dialogue.
“For clarity, the Scottish vessels concerned are permitted to fish for scallops in the area where the incidents are reported to have occurred.”
Prime Minister Theresa May said it was important to seek an amicable solution.