Tempers flare as French fishing flotilla blockades Jersey in battle of the lobster pots
The patrol vessels may have retreated but none of the authorities is backing down over Jersey dispute
Red flares raged and foghorns blasted as an armada of up to 70 French fishing boats staged a dawn blockade of Jersey yesterday. But as they laid siege to the Channel island’s main port of St Helier, refusing to let any vessels out a day after threatening to cut off its electricity, the famously hot-headed French fishermen insisted the real extremists were on the other side.
They accused Jersey officials, fishing bosses and “les rosbifs” (the Brits) of unilaterally changing the rules late last month on their right to catch lobster, crab, scallops and sea snails in waters they say are essential to their livelihoods.
The Jersey government insists it is merely implementing new requirements under the terms of the UK-EU trade deal for boats to submit evidence of their past fishing activities to obtain permits.
“We don’t want war, we just want to maintain our right to fish in these waters, as we have done for decades,” said Olivier Andreani, 32, the skipper of L’omerta, a French fishing boat just under 12 metres long, as he hastily erected a cloth on the back of the boat emblazoned with the English words: “Jersey government kill us.”
Inside the cabin, crewmates Jean-charles Gastin, 25, aka Popeye, and Benjamin Sabine, 29, chainsmoked, cracked jokes and sipped strong hot coffee as they waited for the drama to unfold.
“I hope we can come to an agreement, otherwise nobody leaves and we’ll cut off electricity to the island and prevent them from selling their catch in France,” said Mr Andreani.
It didn’t take long for tempers to fray.
As the French approached the coast, one Jersey fisherman hurled insults and stuck a finger in the air as he entered port, and a small French boat was caught on film ramming its Jersey rival. Those French who dared approach Jersey soil were pelted with bottles full of water and tin cans, while a lone member of the Jersey Militia re-enactment group was even filmed shooting a blank-firing musket across the water from Elizabeth Castle.
Jean-claude La Vaullée, skipper of Le Cach, said: “I’ve refuelled the boat. We’re ready to restage the Battle of Trafalgar” – a curious threat given it was not France’s finest hour.
Adding to the angst, the cabin was punctuated periodically by bloodcurdling screams, as in their spare moments the crew watched The Walking Dead dubbed into French. Local maritime police circled in fast boats as two imposing Royal Navy patrol vessels, HMS Severn and HMS Tamar, looked on from a distance. Then word got around that the French
‘I’ve refuelled the boat – we’re ready to restage the Battle of Trafalgar’
‘The show of force is done. It is the politicians who must take over’
BRUSSELS yesterday rallied behind France in its dispute with Jersey, as the fishermen behind a seven-hour blockade of the Channel island threatened to return and begin a fresh “scallop war” with Britain.
Wading into the row, the European Commission accused Jersey of breaching the terms of Brexit trade deal and demanded the UK intervene to stop it “discriminating” against French vessels.
It added that under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) signed last year, EU fishermen could not be subject to additional conditions and that Jersey should have notified the bloc of any changes in advance.
However, Downing Street last night insisted that the Crown Dependency had the “right to regulate fisheries in their waters” and commanded the full backing of the Government.
A spokesman said the UK would continue to work with Jersey to facilitate discussions with the Commission, although sources pointed out that French ministers had repeatedly refused to engage with George Eustice, the Environment Secretary.
It followed a second round of talks between Boris Johnson and Jersey’s chief minister earlier in the day, during which the Prime Minister reiterated his “unequivocal support”. While the two patrol vessels guarding the port of St Helier were due to return to port this morning following the withdrawal of the flotilla, Downing Street added that it would “remain on standby to provide any further assistance Jersey requests”.
Jersey is now proposing a new forum to bring together fishing representatives to prevent a repeat of this week’s clashes. Two French patrol vessels have also left the waters around Jersey, having been dispatched earlier in the day amid fears the blockade could turn ugly.
Last night it was reported that French fishermen were threatening to blockade Calais in order to stop British goods from entering the EU, in a further bid to ratchet up pressure on the UK.
It is the latest in a series of warnings over the French port, which is crucial to UK exporters to Europe and which sees between 7,500 and 8,500 lorries passing through daily. In April, more than 100 fishermen attempted to stop hauliers carrying British fish from leaving the port of Boulogne-sur-mer, Europe’s largest seafood processing centre.
French fishermen also urged their government, which has threatened to cut off electricity supplies to the Channel island, to follow through with the threat.
“We will go back, and next time it will be war,” one French crewman told The Daily Telegraph.
“It’ll be just like in the Port-en-bessin,” he added, referring to one site of the scallop wars that have erupted intermittently between French and English fishermen since 2012.
Dimitri Rogoff, president of the regional fisheries committee of Normandy, urged the French government to follow through.
“The show of force is done. It is the politicians who must take over,” he said.
“Now, if we don’t get our way, we need the minister to turn off the lights.”
The threat was issued after a meeting between a delegation of trawlermen and Jersey’s environment minister failed to broker a solution to the row, which erupted last week when the island’s authorities placed new restrictions on French vessels.
France has accused Jersey of introducing unilateral restrictions on where French boats can operate and for how long, with a number of vessels also unable to secure access because they cannot prove their historical links to the fishing grounds.
On Tuesday, Annick Girardin, the French minister for the sea, suggested Paris was prepared to cut electricity supplies unless Jersey backed down.
Her comments were followed by the announcement that French fishermen on the north coast would sail to St Helier in order to bring Jersey to “its knees”, in turn prompting Mr Johnson to dispatch Royal Navy vessels.
A group of 60 boats, mainly large trawlers and dredgers, descended on St Helier around 6am yesterday. They left shortly after 1pm.
However, France’s European affairs minister Clement Beaune warned that it would not be “intimidated” by Britain’s show of force.
“Our wish is not to have tensions, but to have a quick and full application of the deal,” he told Agence France-presse. Throwing its weight behind France’s claims, the European Commission said: “Any proposed management conditions have to be notified in advance to the other party, giving them sufficient time to assess and react to the proposed measures.
“The Commission has clearly indicated to the UK that the provisions of the EU-UK TCA have not been respected. Until the UK authorities provide further justifications on the new conditions, these new conditions should not apply.”
Under the trade agreement, the EU has the ability to seek redress through arbitration. The UK is confident that Jersey has complied with its requirements.
Mr Johnson will reportedly hold discussions with Emmanuel Macron, the French president, in the coming days.
A Government spokesman said last night: “The TCA brought in changes to fishing arrangements between the UK and the EU. Jersey authorities have a right to regulate fisheries in their waters under this agreement and we support them in exercising those rights.”
“If they have difficulty – as French fishermen seem to – rather than using threatening language or trying to blockade a foreign port, they should use the dispute resolution mechanisms in the TCA which we’ve literally just ratified,” a senior source added.