French authorities release ‘fishing row’ trawler
THE British trawler that was impounded by France amid the postBrexit fishing row has been released by the French authorities and is setting sail from Le Havre.
The Scottish-registered scallop dredger Cornelis Gert Jan left the northern French port last night after being held there since last week, when France accused it of fishing in its waters without a proper licence.
The public affairs director of the vessel’s owner Macduff Shellfish confirmed it has been released by French authorities.
“The court (of appeal) determined that no bond was required for the release of the vessel,” Andrew Brown 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. 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.”
The ruling came after the boat’s captain, Jondy Ward, appeared at the Court of Appeal in Rouen earlier yesterday. Mr Ward said French maritime police detained the trawler last week for not being on a European register when it was fishing off the Normandy coast.
The skipper said he did not know if it was an error on the part of UK or French officials.
“We had everything in order on the bridge, as far as I was concerned we had everything in place to be legal,” he said.
He said the boat was “definitely” caught in the middle of the FrancoBritish spat over post-Brexit fishing arrangements.