UK fishing boat set free by French authorities
THE British vessel which has been held in France amid the row over post-Brexit fishing licences was released by the French authorities late yesterday, and was setting sail from the port of Le Havre.
Jondy Ward, the captain of the Scottish-registered scallop dredger Cornelis Gert Jan, appeared at the Court of Appeal in Rouen, France, earlier yesterday.
“If it goes right, we’ll get out of here today,” the Irish skipper told reporters after the hearing, adding that the crew could “get ready to go to sea” within half an hour.
Andrew Brown, the head of public affairs for Macduff Shellfish, which owns the vessel, said: “We are pleased to have this matter resolved and delighted that our crew and vessel are now able to return home.
“The crew have acted with calmness and professionalism throughout the entire incident,” Mr Brown added. “They are in good spirits, looking forward to return to their loved ones and are grateful for all the messages of support received from the British public.”
Before the boat left Le Havre last night, Mr Ward explained that French maritime police detained the trawler last week for not being on a European register when it was fishing off the Normandy coast. He said his boat was “definitely” caught in the middle of the spat between France and the UK over post-Brexit fishing arrangements.
The comments were echoed by his lawyer, Mathieu Croix, who told reporters after the hearing: “We’re clearly caught in a political game as there is a whole story spun around this entire case, whereas in fact it is a rather mundane affair over fishing in an area that is supposedly out of bounds and about licences that may or may not have been given and catch amounts that are relatively modest. From then on, given the current political climate, the case blew up to levels that in our view are totally disproportionate.”
At the centre of the post-Brexit fishing dispute are the licences for small French boats, which are issued only if the vessels can demonstrate a history of fishing in British waters.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron had warned that his government could block British boats from landing their catches in French ports and tighten customs checks in protest against what is claimed is a refusal by the UK authorities to grant licences to French boats.
In the event, France suspended the threats on Tuesday as negotiations continued, a move which was welcomed by Britain.
Yesterday, Downing Street acknowledged France could reimpose its threats in the fishing row, as Brexit minister Lord Frost prepares to hold talks today with France’s Europe minister, Clement Beaune.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “He will be discussing both the [Northern Ireland] protocol and the fisheries issues.
“We want to emphasise that our position as regards to how we grant licences has not changed in any way, but we are keen to discuss the broader issue of the protocol and come up with substantive changes.
“It’s entirely up to the French government if they want to reimpose the threats that we saw they both announced and stood back from in recent days.”
Asked what success in today’s meeting in Paris might look like, the Downing Street spokesman said: “We’re seeking substantive changes to the protocol with the EU, and these changes are necessary because the protocol as it is being enforced is extremely challenging.
“So, we want to seek agreement from the EU that they will make the changes necessary so that it can be sustainable in the long term.”