Treading a fine line on fishing

It appears that the case was well received, and the Environment department is now examining ways to break away from the agreement and begin setting its own quotas for Island waters – an idea that has earned the support of Senator Sir Philip Bailhache, the Island’s de facto foreign minister.

When the agreement was put in place in 1996 it brought many benefits to Jersey, not least because it allowed the Island to extend its territorial waters. It was also the first step towards limiting the number of French vessels operating around our shores.

However, it also damaged a sector of the fleet, with a limited number of crews abandoning wet-fish trawling and, in common with most of the Island’s fishermen, concentrating solely on shellfish, which are not subject to quotas.

But perhaps we should not be surprised by the spirited response of the Island’s fleet. After all, they have form when it comes to standing up for Jersey’s rights. In 2004 they famously launched an armada to Guernsey and blockaded St Peter Port harbour following a dispute over fishing rights. And in 2011 they threatened to repeat the protest amid fears that they could be excluded from a large part of Guernsey’s seas when the Sarnians introduced new regulations.

But it is one thing to pick a fight with Guernsey, and another to take on the might of Europe.

The fishermen claim that if Jersey does eventually opt out of EU fishing quotas, it will be the biggest development for the industry in decades. But such a move will have wider implications that will stretch far beyond netting and potting. It will send out a clear message that the Island is capable of managing its own affairs without the interference of so-called experts in Brussels who might struggle to find the Island on a map.

Yet our fishermen should tread carefully. Jersey’s relationship with the EU has sometimes been turbulent. It may well be in the fishermen’s interests to break away from Brussels – it may not be in the wider interests of the Island to antagonise powerful European interests.