Jersey conceded to pressure over fishing permits msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Posted by Scott Lucas | May 15, 2021 |
French fishing boats off the coast of Jersey, May 6, 2021 (AP)
The Daily Mail’s front page blared, “We’re Ready for War”.
If you have “Jersey and French Fishing Boats” on your card for 1st Brexit military showdown you’re a winner.
The invocations of 1914 and 1939 continued for the next 48 hours. “Boris Sends Gunboats Into Jersey“, the Mail trumpeted. A UK Government official fed The Telegraph, “At least when the Germans invaded they kept the lights on.” Somewhat bizarrely, France’s forces waged battle on their own port: “Now the French Threaten to Blockade Calais“, before it was V-F (Victory Over France) Day: “Victoire! Two Royal Navy Ships Send French Fishing Flotilla Scurrying Back Home”.
By Harry Holmes2021-05-13T13:42:00+01:00
That’s the accusation from France – but the truth is complicated
The Royal Navy ships may be back at base, but Jersey’s fishing row is far from over. Last week’s ‘war of the whelks’ – caused by Jersey’s decision to limit the access of French vessels in the island’s waters – evoked a volatile response from France and instigated blockaded ports and threats to the island’s power. Jersey’s fishermen called it “close to an act of war”.
Tensions were eased this week by Jersey’s decision to postpone its new licensing rules until July, but the issue will not subside. Former EU negotiator Michel Barnier accused the UK government this week of behaving like “buccaneers” by failing to honour the UK-EU trade deal.
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Jersey’s fishermen say they are suffering considerably more than their French counterparts in the ongoing row over fishing rights and claim their trawlers are being turned away from port by a “mob” of aggressors.
Following a day of high drama on Thursday when 60 French boats blockaded St Helier harbour, the fishermen allege that off the north coast of France a Jersey fisherman was harassed by French dockworkers.
Michael Michieli, who runs a trawler out of St Helier, told
The Independent one of his colleagues had been unceremoniously dismissed from port by a hostile group.