UK-France fishing wars flare in Channel

Long simmering animosities between the UK and France over post-Brexit fishing rights in the English Channel have flared again after the tiny island of Jersey, a British Crown dependency 14 miles (22 kilometers) off the French coast, rejected 75 license applications from French fishermen to operate in its waters.

The island's special status outside the UK allows it to make its own decisions regarding its territorial waters. France, which had previously threatened to cut power cables to the island, was enraged by the move, with government spokesman Gabriel Attal calling it "totally unacceptable and inadmissible."

Attal vowed to bring the power of all 27 EU member states to bear on the UK, saying Jersey's posture was anathema to the spirit of post-Brexit agreements signed by the EU and the UK.

French Maritime Minister Annick Girardin, too, was indignant, demanding "French fishing should not be taken hostage by the British for political ends."

The UK officially left the European Union on January 31, after long and exceedingly contentious divorce proceedings. Most recently, France became incensed with its UK neighbors over anglo ally Australia's reneging on a multibillion dollar defense deal that led to the cancellation of a French submarine order that instead went to the United States as part of a larger Southeast Asian defense agreement.

Jersey says it has an 'open door'

Jersey, for its part, says it "will continue to have an open door to further data and evidence of fishing activity, including for vessels which have already been considered, and we look forward to working collaboratively to resolve the remaining complex issues."

The island's External Relations Minister, Ian Gorst, said that of 170 applicants, Jersey granted 64 licenses, as well as a further 31 temporary licenses to applicants the island says need to show proof of having previously fished in Jersey waters. Island authorities say recently issued licenses come on top of 47 that were previously granted.

The UK itself says that 12 of 47 applications recently submitted by small boat owners were accepted and that London has granted nearly 1,700 licenses this year for the UK's exclusive economic zone, which extends from 12-200 nautical miles off the coast.

A French blockade?

Meanwhile, French politicians such as Jean-Pierre Pont, from the northern French port of Boulogne and a member of President Emmanuel Macron's La Republique en Marche party, said: "Be warned. Since the British are refusing to honor what they signed, as with other Anglo-Saxons in another area, the French fishermen of Boulogne-sur-Mer may be obliged, after nine months of useless patience, to envisage ways to retaliate against the UK — for example by blocking ports or the entry of lorries towards the UK through the [Channel] tunnel."

Pont exclaimed, "Our fishermen want to be out at sea fishing under the terms agreed during Brexit."

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Maritime Minister Girardin said Paris would decide on possible retaliatory measures against the UK, at both the national and EU level, within 15 days. She said possible sanctions could involve energy supplies, as well as measures that would impact British students in France, rail service and trade.

When France, which supplies 95% of Jersey's electricity, threatened to cut off the island if it did not relent to French demands earlier this year, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson famously sent naval patrol vessels into Channel waters.

js/aw (AFP, AP, Reuters)