Fishermen exempt from isolation rules

Friday 12 June 2020

25 commercial fishing boats have been given permission to fully resume their work, including landing their catches in the UK, France and Jersey - and so long as they don't go ashore or have any contact with other people, none of the crew have to self isolate when they get back to base.

Guernsey Ports has made the allowance to support the fishing industry, so crews can safely land catches and continue working as the islands continue to move out of lockdown.

Neighbouring jurisdictions have different lockdown rules to ours, and are in different phases of their own lockdown, with only the Bailiwick of Guernsey described as 'Covid-free' after 41 days without any new positive cases.

Pictured: Dr Nicola Brink, Guernsey's Director of Public Health, has led the Bailiwick through the covid-19 pandemic.

As life begins to return to 'normal' fishermen, who were allowed to continue to working during the full lockdown, are also allowed to resume selling their catch elsewhere.

By Thursday morning, a total of 25 applications had been approved, allowing locally registered fishing boats from Guernsey and Alderney to land their catches in the UK, France and Jersey, without the need for self-isolation on their return to the Bailiwick.

The reason given for that is that they do not leave their vessels or have any physical contact with those ashore.

A spokesperson for the States said that demand for local catches has remained steady throughout the pandemic and this exemption will allow commercial fishing boats to continue contributing to the economy. 

"Consistent quality means that demand for our fish, crab and lobster remains high, and a number of such trips have been conducted successfully, allowing local fishermen to reach a wider and more profitable market for their catch without directly interacting with anyone from outside of the Bailiwick," the spokesperson said.

Pictured: Fishing was allowed to continue during the lockdown and now catches can be landed elsewhere again too.

Travel restrictions, including the need to self isolate on arrival in the Bailiwick, were introduced in March after the first cases of Covid-19 were detected in Guernsey.

Although non essential travel is now allowed, the 14 day self isolation period is still a legal requirement, except for a small number of exceptions allowed for critical workers defined in law. Those exceptions have all been permitted on a case-by-case basis following a specific application made to, and approved in line with guidance from, the Director of Public Health.

In those cases where an exception has been granted, individuals must still adhere to certain restrictions.

The exceptions granted for fishing crews, approved by Guernsey Ports in consultation with Public Health, have all been assessed individually in this way. In each case, safety measures have been agreed. These include wet fish and shellfish being landed on to the quay, onto other vessels or offshore store cages, without the need for crew to step ashore, or have direct contact with the recipients. Equipment used for craning catches off the vessel to shore is thoroughly cleaned.

A spokesperson for Guernsey Ports said these measures are not dissimilar from some of the new practices used by on-island ports staff who receive supplies without coming into direct contact with the crews of supply ships when deliveries are made.