French, British naval boats deployed over fishing dispute
LONDON — Vessels from Britain’s Royal Navy and French police boats patrolled Thursday near the English Channel island of Jersey, where French fishermen angry about losing access to its waters gathered for a maritime protest.
The irate mariners set off flares and entered the island’s main harbor, in the first major dispute between France and Britain over fishing rights in the wake of Brexit.
The European Union appealed for calm, but also accused the United Kingdom of not respecting the terms of the post-Brexit trade deal agreed to by the two sides.
The naval policing boats Athos, which has a large machine gun on its front deck, and the unarmed Themis were sent to keep watch on waters between France and Jersey, French maritime authorities for the English Channel and North Sea said. The deployment came after Britain on Wednesday directed two naval vessels, HMS Severn and HMS Tamar, to also patrol the waters around the island, a selfgoverning British Crown Dependency near the coast of northern France.
French fishermen steamed into Jersey waters to demonstrate against new postBrexit rules requiring them to submit their past fishing activities in order to receive a license to continue operating in the island’s waters. French fishing communities say some boats that have operated around Jersey for years have suddenly had their access restricted.
Dimitri Rogoff, who heads a grouping of fishermen, said about 50 boats from French ports along the western Normandy coast joined the protest Thursday morning, gathering their fleet off the Jersey port of St. Helier.
“This isn’t an act of war,” Rogoff said in a phone interview. “It’s an act of protest.”
Jersey fisherman John Dearing said the scene off St. Helier was “like an invasion.”
French authorities said the patrol vessels were there to assist in any maritime emergencies.
The 50boat French flotilla later dispersed peacefully after wrapping up its protest, French authorities said.
The British government said its two navy vessels “would remain in place to monitor the situation as a precautionary measure.”