In the latest development in the ongoing saga, which has seen some Jersey vessels stopped from landing their catch in Normandy, Jean Castex called on Jersey’s government to issue more licences to enable hundreds of Norman and Breton vessels to access the Island’s waters.
His comments came just a week after the government was forced to revoke an interim permit scheme for French boats following a warning from the European Commission that Jersey was at risk of falling foul of the post-Brexit Trade and Economic Co-operation Agreement.
As a result, any foreign vessels wishing to operate within Jersey waters must prove they had fished here for ten days in any of the last three years in order to obtain a permanent licence. But Environment Minister John Young has said that only 57 licences have been issued to a total of 340 French applicants, as many of them had not met the relevant criteria.
The situation has sparked a serious political row, with France threatening to lobby the European Commission to trigger a clause within the TECA which could lead to Jersey being excluded from the UK-EU Brexit agreement.
Meanwhile, France’s Minister of the Sea, Annick Girardin, has vowed to try to reinstate the former Granville Bay Treaty, which previously governed access rights for fishermen between the two jurisdictions and provided France with greater autonomy over licensing.
The problems are also causing anguish amongst fishing communities in Brittany and Normandy, with the latter, on more than one occasion, preventing some of the Island’s vessels from landing their catch there.
Speaking to Tendance Ouest, a radio station in Normandy, French Prime Minister Jean Castex, said: ‘We have obtained the right to continue fishing in the six-to-12-mile zone off the United Kingdom and off Jersey and Guernsey.
‘This must now materialise – the Minister of the Sea is fighting everyday for the recognition and rights of our fishermen in this. We will be very firm on this, particularly with the European Commission, so that the agreement is upheld.’
On the same day tensions also ran high among Normandy fishermen during a meeting held at the fish auction house in Granville – where many of Jersey’s fleet go to land their catch.
Antonin Marie, of those who attended, said: ‘What shall we do? Block Jersey fishermen from landing their catches? If we wait it’s victory for them. [Fishing in] Jersey is 80% of my turnover. What are we going to do if it doesn’t restart?’
Meanwhile, Pascal Thévenin, the skipper of the Joker, made reference to going fishing in Jersey’s waters regardless of whether they had obtained a licence. He said: ‘If one of us is arrested we will all go together. Burning tyres [as a form of protest] is not enough. We must be heard.’
