Tensions flare up between UK and France over fishing in English Channel

In this file photo taken on October 5, 2017 bags of scallops are stacked at the port of Ouistreham, near Caen, northwestern France. (AFP photo)

An old row between the United Kingdom and France over rights to scallop fishing in seas near France's Normandy coast have escalated after French and British fishermen clashed in the English Channel in the latest outbreak of the so-called “scallop wars.”

British authorities demanded Paris to respect rules that regulate the practice in the area.

In a statement on Wednesday, UK environment secretary Michel Gove called on French authorities to intervene in a surging dispute between French and British fishermen in the Baie de Seine area off the coast of Normandy where rival boats were seen earlier this week clashing with each other.

Gove said British fishermen who were attacked by French rivals had a legal right to operate in the area.

“They were fishing entirely legally, they had every right to be in those waters and we talked to the French authorities in order to ensure that we have a protocol,” said Gove.

“These are French waters – it’s the responsibility of the French to ensure that those who have a legal right to fish can continue to fish uninterrupted,” he added.

UK environment secretary Michael Gove (AFP photo)

Footage released in the media on Tuesday showed a group of French boats crashing into British vessels and throwing stones at them. The clashes began late on Monday and continued into Tuesday when the British boats were forced to leave Baie de Seine.

In bid to preserve the scallop stocks in the area, Paris only allows its fishermen to fish in the region between October 1 and May 15. The French, however, are dissatisfied with the rules and want free access round the year like the British fishermen.

The head of Normandy's fishing organization Dimitri Rogoff said Thursday that a UK delegation was to arrive in the area to discuss the issue.

Rogoff said, however, that if talks fail to bring about an agreement, French fishermen will return to sea for another “war” on scallops.

Sources said British ambassador to France, Ed Llewellyn, had raised the issue with French authorities while UK agriculture minister, George Eustice, was to meet his French counterpart to discuss the case.


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