France and the UK have come to an agreement to bring the so-called ‘scallops wars’ in the English Channel to a close.
Footage emerged last week of violent clashes between fishermen from both nations – with rocks and smoke bombs reportedly thrown.
The clashes saw around 35 French boats chasing five British vessels out of the waters of the Baie de Seine, around 20km off the coast of Normandy.
The dispute has been simmering for over ten years – however last week’s clashes brought it out into the open.
It centres on different rules regarding seasonal scallop fishing.
La charge d'un navire anglais lors de l'affrontement entre pêcheurs français et britanniques !https://t.co/jCfERoMtex pic.twitter.com/WwdxJtbdn1
— France 3 Normandie (@F3bnormandie) August 28, 2018
French fishermen are only permitted to fish for the molluscs between October and May – however British ships were legally allowed to catch them throughout the year.
This evening, in a joint statement, the French and UK Governments said they had reached an agreement in principle to bring the dispute to a close.
Under the deal UK vessels will no longer be allowed to fish in the Baie de Seine between May and October.
The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the agreement is subject to a reasonable compensation package – which will be finalised in Paris on Friday.
However, Jim Portus from the UK South West Fish Producers Organisation warned that if the deal is not good enough, “it will still be rejected.”
"The owners of the vessels have got to know they are going to be as well-off in terms of their income from where they are allowed to fish,” he said.
"This is a small area of the English channel from which they will be excluded for about three weeks."
