Fishermen warned not to land catch in France

The comments come as the UK formally left the EU at 11pm last night and entered a transition period.

However, it immediately ends the London Fisheries Convention, which allowed French fishermen access to Bailiwick waters. The States of Guernsey said a new package of measures would provide continuity.

French vessels will now have to get a special authorised document, which is issued by Guernsey and then has to be authorised in France, which will then allow them to fish in local waters under the same conditions as the London Fisheries Convention. This situation will stay in place until the end of the Brexit transition period.

But French fisherman are unhappy about the arrangement and the fear is they could take out their anger on Bailiwick vessels.

Pierro Le Cheminant runs the 14-metre long trawler the Amy Blue and lands his catches at French ports. He planned to take his vessel out this week and land the fish in Cherbourg. But then he got an email from the Cherbourg market warning him that it would not be safe to land any fish there.

‘It said it was not safe for us to go in there,’ he said.

‘French fishermen are up in arms [about changes to Guernsey’s territorial waters.]’

Fortunately, he heard about the issue as he was about to head out fishing with two crew, but this now means his livelihood is at risk.

Alderney fisherman Dave Gillingham has more than 30 years experience in local waters and skippers the 10-metre Katie C.

He was contacted by a Frenchman he works with, warning him that it would not be safe for him to land his fish at Cherbourg.

He said the threat to GU-registered vessels was real and French fishermen could cause them serious problems.

‘They could blockade the port [if we try to land] or set fire to our boats,’ the Alderney Licensed Vessels Association chairman said.

‘It has all been done in the past.’

He said until matters settled down, his only option if he was fishing was to land his catch in UK, where it would have less value. And for that he would have to cross the Channel in winter.

He was concerned that Policy & Resources had dealt with the matter, which should have been handled by Guernsey Sea Fisheries.

Policy & Resources president Deputy Gavin St Pier said the new arrangement was a pro-active move by Guernsey to give continuity over the system.

‘This is an important step to assist the negotiations during this year and to ensure that we protect our good neighbourhood relationship with France and in particular Normandy,’ he said.

‘It also demonstrates the greater control that the Bailiwick has over its own waters following the extension of our territorial seas in 2019, a step taken to prepare for the UK’s exit from the EU.’

Economic Development president Charles Parkinson said the Bailiwick’s trading arrangement with France was important.

‘We will need to negotiate our own future fisheries management arrangements that will suit the needs of the Bailiwick from 2021 onwards,’ he said.

‘We have achieved this while ensuring that there is no greater fishing activity by EU vessels in our waters during this time, it does not prejudice the future negotiations, it does not provide new rights of French vessels, and is for a time limited period only.’

Regional Committee for Maritime Fisheries and Brittany Marine Farms has warned its fishermen they could not fish in Bailiwick waters from midnight last night. If their equipment was in Guernsey waters, it had to be picked up before midnight on Thursday. The access ban does not apply to the territorial waters of Jersey, which are covered by the Granville Bay Treaty, the committee states.