Bailiwick protected from "scallop war"

Thursday 30 August 2018

The ongoing row between British and French fishermen shouldn't wash up on our shores, according to one of Guernsey's most experienced mariners.

Deputy Barry Paint said the islands are protected by laws which were introduced in the last decade, which also protected the mollusc stocks.

He said in the past the islands could have been drawn into any disputes over fishing rights between our two neighbouring countries, but because of laws introduced in 2012/13 to protect stocks of edible delicacies like scallops, Deputy Paint said we don't need to be concerned now.

"The laws were introduced to protect the stocks by limiting dredging and to stop big boats coming in and taking our fish.

"England did it to us before, what they're doing to the French, but they can't do it to us now."

Pictured: Deputy Barry Paint - a master mariner turned politician in Guernsey 

Deputy Paint said what is happening between the British and French fishermen at the moment isn't illegal and neither side are breaking any international regulations as the boats are outside both countries' fishing areas.

He said morally what they're doing may be wrong but that is not for him to decide. 

Deputy Paint said there are currently three local boats which are able to dredge for scallops and a number of divers who can gather the molluscs during certain tides. He said this protects our local stocks as the Bailiwick's waters can't be overdredged or fished.

He said the local fishermen are able to satisfy the islands' appetite for scallops and other shellfish with the crews, boats and divers working in our waters now.

The row between the British and French fishermen doesn't appear to be abating yet but officials from both jurisdictions are due to meet soon to try and resolve the matter.

Express reported that the row started in the early hours of Tuesday morning, when around 35 to 40 French ships encircled roughly a dozen British boats, including small vessels, in the Baie de Seine, off the coast of Normandy in northern France.

Boats rammed into each other and the French fishermen were accused of hurling everything from flares to insults at their British counterparts.

Several British trawlers were damaged as a result of the confrontation.

Pictured: The area at the centre of the "scallops war"

The scallop-rich waters of the Baie de Seine have been a source of tension due to differing restrictions on what British and French fishermen can do there.

French authorities try to preserve scallop stocks by banning their ships from fishing in the region over the summer, a measure that ends on October 1.

This law does not apply to the British, however – who anger the French mariners by harvesting scallops during this window.

Pictured: The edible delicacy appears on many restaurant menus in Guernsey as well as in France and across the British Isles and elsewhere meaning it is highly lucrative for fishermen who dredge or dive for scallops 

Guernsey's Sea Fisheries team said they won't be involved in any talks between Britain and France as they also confirmed the Bailiwick has not been adversely affected by the situation so far.

A spokesperson for Sea Fisheries said that as the Baie de Seine scallop fishery is situated to the east of the Normandy Peninsula, approximately 70 miles outside of Bailiwick waters, it would be rare for a local vessel to fish there.  

However, Sea Fisheries can confirm that "a single locally based vessel did fish for scallops in the Baie de Seine area for a short period last year, but has not fished there so far this year and does not anticipate doing so this season."

The spokesperson said that Bailiwick officials are not involved in the Baie de Seine negotiations regarding this fishery or the agreements arising from them, but it is understood that UK and French officials are meeting soon to attempt to resolve the conflict.