FRENCH authorities have detained a Scottish trawler amid an ongoing dispute over post-Brexit fishing rights.
Two boats were fined on Wednesday after one failed to comply with checks by police and the other was found not to hold a proper licence, according to the French maritime ministry.
It is understood the Scottish vessel being held is the Cornelis Gert Jan, which operates out of the port of Shoreham in West Sussex, operated by MacDuff Shellfish of Scotland.
The company's sustainability and public affairs director, Andrew Brown, said the crew are in "good spirits".
“The UK scallop fleet is provided access to French waters under the Brexit Fisheries Agreement. Macduff’s fishing activity is entirely legal," Brown said.
“It appears our vessel has been caught up in the ongoing dispute between the UK and France on the implementation of the Brexit Fishing Agreement.
“The Cornelis does have catch aboard. This may be confiscated by the French authorities unless a speedy resolution is achieved.”
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He went on: “We are looking to the UK Government to defend the rights of the UK fishing fleet and ensure that the fishing rights provided under the Brexit Fishing agreement are fully respected by the EU.
“We will vigorously defend ourselves against any claims. Our priority concern is for the welfare of the crew of the Cornelis.
“The crew are in good spirits and will remain on board the vessel until its release. The skipper has left the vessel to be interviewed by the French authorities and we have ensured that he has legal representation throughout these discussions."
The issue was raised in an urgent question by the SNP's Deidre Brock this morning in the House of Commons.
UK Environment Secretary George Eustice said he has asked officials to urgently investigate the situation surrounding a Scottish vessel detained in France, saying it’s “too early” to say precisely what has happened.
Brock, the SNP's environment spokeswoman, pressed the Tory minister to offer more details, adding: “We have a skipper of a Scottish scalloping vessel due in court, it’s simply not good enough that the Secretary of State doesn’t have answers to those questions.”
Eustice, on the vessel thought to be detained, said: “What I’ve been able to establish so far in respect of that vessel is that they were on the list that was provided by the MMO (Marine Management Organisation) initially to the European Union.
“The European Union therefore did grant a licence. We are seeing some reports that for some reason they were subsequently withdrawn from the list, it’s unclear why that might have been at the moment.”
The Cabinet secretary said he was awaiting further details from Marine Scotland and is expecting a response in the “next hour or so”.
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Labour's shadow environment secretary Luke Pollard asked in the Commons: “The fishing dispute with France is very troubling and facts need to be established.”
He asked if an external waters licence has been issued “to the Scottish scalloper currently detained in Le Havre, as its name does not appear on the MMO website. Is that an oversight?”
Eustice said: “My officials are investigating the circumstances around this vessel that’s been detained in France.
“It is too early to be able to identify precisely what happened. But I have seen reports that it was on a list originally and then appeared not to be on a list. But it is something that I’ve asked our officials to urgently investigate.”
A statement posted by French maritime minister Annick Girardin said checks had been carried out by authorities on boats in the Baie de Seine, near Le Havre, in the north of the country.
One trawler was fined for obstructing checks after it initially refused a request to be boarded by police, the statement said. It was later not found to have been in breach of regulations.
The ministry said the second boat was not on a list of UK vessels with licences granted by the European Commission and France. The boat was then ordered to divert to Le Havre.
MacDuff Shellfish insists its fishing activity was "entirely legal" and the trawler was "legally fishing for scallop" in French waters when it was seized by the authorities.
The firm said it would defend itself against any claims and that its boat was just "another pawn" in the ongoing France-UK fishing row and urged the UK Government to "defend the rights of the UK fishing fleet".
Barrie Deas, from the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations, the body representing fishermen in England, said descending into a “tit for tat” relationship between the nations was “unhelpful”.
He told the BBC’s Today programme: “It may be normal enforcement action but against the background of the threatening noises coming from the French government… it’s very concerning.
“France seems determined to escalate this issue about licences and I suppose we have to wonder why.
“There’s a presidential election coming up in France and all the signs are that the rhetoric has been ramped up ahead of that on the fishing issue.”
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Deas added: “(The amount of) UK vessels landing into French ports is not massive.
“It’s a bit strange because the French fleets fish much more in UK waters than we fish in their waters.
“Therefore if we descend into a tit for tat relationship, I think the French fleet are very much more exposed – I don’t think that’s a very helpful way to go.
“It’s a strange direction for the French to take, which is why we conclude that this has all been politicised.”
A UK Government spokesperson said: “France’s threats are disappointing and disproportionate, and not what we would expect from a close ally and partner.
“The measures being threatened do not appear to be compatible with the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) and wider international law, and, if carried through, will be met with an appropriate and calibrated response.
“We will be relaying our concerns to the EU Commission and French government.
“The UK stands by its commitments in the TCA and has granted 98% of licence applications from EU vessels to fish in our waters.
“All our decisions have been fully in line with this commitment.
“We also support Jersey and Guernsey’s handling of fisheries licensing decisions, which has been entirely in line with the provisions of the TCA.”
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