Deputy Steve Luce has begun talks with Norman and Breton officials with a view to overhauling the Granville Bay Treaty, which determines access rights for Jersey and French fishermen to each other’s waters.
The minister said that Brexit and the withdrawal of the UK from the London Convention – which will enable Britain to regain full control of its waters up to 12 miles from the coast from July 2019 – has ‘focused’ the minds of fishermen on agreements relating to territorial waters.
But Deputy Luce said that his main focus, if the treaty is to be updated, is to make sure that both French and Jersey fishermen work to ensure the sustainability of stock within the Island’s waters.
‘The Granville Bay Treaty is meant to be reviewed every five years and the last review was more than ten years ago, so it’s long overdue,’ he said.
‘The most important thing for me is to make sure that the industry is sustainable and has a future, ten, 15 and 20 years from now.
‘So far we have been very tough on sustainability in Jersey but we need to be. And I’m sure that the French fishermen would agree with that view.’
He added: ‘We have had a meeting with fishermen from Normandy and Brittany already and it went very well. What I would like to see is the treaty reviewed before Brexit, so we are talking about the next 18 months.’
