France and the UK have launched a dispute over fishing rights, after their trawlers had been banned from certain British waters in order to protect sensitive habitats.
French diplomats brought up the issue during a meeting of EU Ministers on 19 March, and officials from the European Commission who enforce fishery and trading measures will meet their UK counterparts Monday.
Paris has asked that the EU determine whether London’s actions violate the Post Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement. This could lead to punitive action against Britain.
Last month, the UK banned bottom trawling – which involves dragging heavy netting along the seabed – in 13 protected zones within its territorial water. The law is applicable to British and French fishing vessels that have fished the area for many years.
The Rassemblement National, a far-right political group, has accused the UK of slashing the French fishing industry.
The diplomatic showdown has to be launched right away. It is essential for the survival of a profession,” said , its regional party from northern France.
In the European Parliament elections in June, President Emmanuel Macron’s party trails the RN. This puts pressure on him to defend an influential fishing lobby.
Jean-Noel Barrot, Europe Minister Jean-Noel Barrot traveled to Boulogne late March. He said that France would not accept the “arbitrary decisions of the United Kingdom”, and asked the EU to “take retaliatory actions”.
The TCA gave the UK control over its territorial waters, but EU boats retained a large part of their traditional fishing grounds in them.
The 13 Marine Protected Areas are approximately 4,000 square kilometers and include rare rock and reef habitats.
This is the second dispute this year over UK conservation measures. In February, Denmark and Sweden requested that the Commission take action to punish the UK for closing part of Dogger Bank (North Sea) in order to protect seabirds.
The UK decision is supported by fishing NGOs. Claire Nouvian of French conservation group Bloom said: “The Macronist Right, the Far Right and the Conservative Rights have once again decided that they will work against the citizens’ interests by ignoring unprecedented ecological and social problems of our time.”
She said that her organization encouraged the UK to “not give in to French demands to defend the most indefensible form of fishing in the 21st Century: trawling”.
Charles Clover of the Blue Marine Foundation in the UK said that the TCA allowed restrictions on fishing as long as they treated all boats equally.
The UK has a legal obligation to ban trawling within certain MPAs. He said that a large number of these sites had been designated by EU laws, laws which many EU members states do not follow.
He said: “It is perhaps ironic that the one European country which is trying to even follow the EU Habitats Directive at sea, is also the only European nation that has left the European Union.”
The UK government stated: “We are very proud of the record we have in protecting our oceans, and the species that depend upon them.”
The statement continued: “The decision to ban bottom trawling for all vessels including British, was made after extensive consultations with a variety of stakeholders including UK and French fisheries organizations.”
We have contacted the French government and European Commission for comments.