The show of force that took place off the Channel Island of Jersey on Thursday, May 6, revealed the tensions that persist between France and the United Kingdom over fishing conditions in the English Channel after the Brexit. About fifty boats Frenchmen tried to blockade the port of Saint-Hélier to protest against the new fishing conditions imposed by the United Kingdom. If, since 1er January, a new trade agreement between Brussels and London governs access to British waters, France accuses the United Kingdom of adding new terms not provided for in the agreement.
In response to this protest, London has deployed two warships “As a precaution”, according to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. France has sent two patrol boats, “For the safety of navigation and the protection of human life at sea”, said a spokesperson for the maritime prefecture of the Channel and the North Sea. At the end of the day, all had returned to the port, but the tensions remain around an agreement which had caused a stir. Explanations.
Why is fishing in the English Channel a major subject for France?
As is the case for several European countries, French fishing depends on the abundant fish waters around the Channel Islands, in the English Channel. The share of fishing in British waters represented, in 2018, 17% of the total turnover achieved by French vessels in the North-East Atlantic, according to a information report of the National Assembly dating from June 2020.
Three regions are particularly concerned: Hauts-de-France, Brittany and Normandy. In tonnage, around 18% of the Breton catch, the leading French fishing region, was made in British waters in 2018. This rate rises to 58% for Hauts-de-France and 34% for Normandy. , according to the report.
What were the rules before Brexit?
Before the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU), French fishermen, like those across the EU, could work in British waters, and vice versa, respecting the common fisheries policy (PCP), established in 1983, which set catch quotas by species of fish and by area.
However, the British felt that this division was unbalanced. “ European fishing [dans les eaux britanniques] is 8.4 times larger than the UK fishery in EU waters. At the same time, Europeans generate income in British waters 4.9 times higher than the British in European waters ”, thus recalls the site of the French government Viepublique.fr. Believing themselves wronged, fishermen from across the Channel have also supported Brexit 92%.
By leaving the EU, the United Kingdom therefore abandoned this policy and regained full possession of its waters. But to prevent European fishermen from suffering too brutally from Brexit, a new agreement was concluded between Brussels and London at the end of December 2020. This provides that, gradually, over five years, Europeans will have to give up to 25% of their catch in UK waters. Then, from summer 2026, access will be renegotiated annually. According to the agreement, during this transition period, French fishermen will be able to continue fishing between 6 and 12 nautical miles (11 and 22 km) off the British coast, provided they have a license granted by the Channel Islands. .
What do French sailors blame the British for?
Fishermen and the French government denounce, among other things, the slowness of the Jersey authorities in issuing licenses allowing access to British waters. In addition, to obtain these licenses, professionals must prove to the authorities of the United Kingdom that they are used to fishing there, which is complicated for some vessels.
Importantly, the British added several requirements regarding areas where vessels could go to fish in the Channel, but which had not been discussed as part of the post-Brexit trade deal.
These new conditions sparked great indignation. The French Minister of the Sea, Annick Girardin, deplored that they did not “Not notified to the European Commission”. “We discovered these new technical measures, which are not applicable as they are to our fishermen”, declared Monday, May 3, the Ministry of the Sea at Agence France-Presse.
Tuesday April 27, Mme Girardin claimed to be ready to resort to “Retaliatory measures”, if the British authorities continued to restrict access to their waters. The Minister referred in particular to possible repercussions on the “Transmission of electricity by submarine cable” which supplies the island of Jersey from France, in turn provoking the indignation of the British.
Thursday evening, after a meeting he described as “Constructive” between the officials of the island and the fishermen, John Le Fondré, the chief minister of Jersey, proposed the establishment of a discussion forum between the two parties to resolve the dispute.
“We will not compromise, the law is very clear, conventions must be respected, (…) the decisions which were taken by the British, we consider them null and void ”, for his part, warned the French Minister of Foreign Trade, Franck Riester, on Friday morning, at the microphone of Sud Radio.