French fishermen will be able to go fishing again off Guernsey. On Saturday, the day Brexit entered into force, the authorities of the Channel Island had suspended the access of French fishing vessels to their waters. But, assured Tuesday, February 4, the Minister of Agriculture, Didier Guillaume, "The solution is found". "I think (…) in the coming hours, in the next few days, individual agreements could be made with French fishermen", he said during questions to the government, to the National Assembly.
In the morning, the Secretary of State for European Affairs, Amélie de Montchalin, visited Calvados, where she notably visited a fishmonger business in Caen. "We have a diplomatic agreement", she said :
“We have received a formal letter from Her Majesty the Crown (…). We have a political agreement (…). Now we are in the implementation. For example, we will ask for international registrations from fishermen who sometimes do not have them. There are small administrative procedures. "
The European Commission "Prevailed a list of boats" who want to fish in Guernsey and "We have an agreement with Guernsey so that they do not withdraw money, that it is free", also pointed out Mme of Montchalin.
"Fish don't know borders"
Monday in Brussels, "I alerted the commissioners to the fact that this is a subject which was not at all symbolic, which was key to confidence in future negotiations". For fishermen, it is important "That we are not setting a precedent by restricting a small area in the middle of the Channel for diplomatic reasons"said Mme of Montchalin. At the Assembly, Mr. Guillaume also insisted:
"Fishing cannot be the adjustment variable for Brexit and any agreement. Both French and European vessels must continue to be able to fish beyond December 31 in British waters. If it were not, it would only be a political choice of the British government. Fish do not know borders. "
According to the president of the Normandy regional fisheries committee, Dimitri Rogoff, "Around fifty Norman boats and over a hundred Breton boats are more or less dependent" Guernsey waters. According to the Breton Fisheries Committee, they are "A hundred or so" in all on the two regions.
"It was a bad sequence at the start of Brexit because the boats had to be told on January 30 "you clear for January 31". Some have still not gone back to sea because they are deprived of their area. But there is a will to get out on both sides ", commented Mr. Rogoff.
"We have sent a strong signal to Europe and the French government that if at the end of the year it goes like this, it will be a nameless mess. "
