In Calais, the long wait for private licensed fishermen
Negotiations between London and Paris continue, under the worried eye of the sailors.
“The English are quite stubborn, they don’t let go.” In Calais, Loïc Fontaine decided to hang on for a few more days, in the hope that a solution would be found between Paris and London to allow him to obtain a license. A last-chance meeting is being held this Thursday, before the possible implementation by France of trade retaliatory measures. The horizon remains blocked: London said Wednesday that it was not considering any relaxation of the rules.
“We try to put a little pressure but it is better to stay friendly and find a compromise. If we start a sea war, we never end”, estimated Loïc Fontaine, Tuesday, on a quay of the port of Calais, on his return from a day of whelk fishing less than 30 minutes sailing from the French coast to avoid any incursion into British waters.
The immobilization of a Scottish trawler last week in Le Havre, even if it left on Wednesday, raised tensions a notch, causing some fishermen to fear that they might become hostages in a conflict that the overruns.
45 license-free boats in Hauts-de-France
Paris has been criticizing Great Britain for many months for not issuing enough licenses to French fishermen, part of whose activity was carried out in British waters, very close to the French coasts off Calais or the Cotentin, around from the Channel Islands, and very rich in fish.
In the Hauts-de-France region alone, only 35 boats have obtained the precious license, while Loïc Fontaine’s trawler, the Sainte-Catherine-Labouré, is one of 45 boats that have not yet won their case, according to the count from local authorities.
“Now we are all grouped together in French waters, we Belgians and Dutch find it harder to live with everyone and resources are dwindling. After a while, there will be nothing left. “, emphasizes the fisherman from Calais.
“We have been waiting for the license for nine months, but here we are at the end of the tunnel. We are losing money, we are working at a loss, so I put the boat up for sale.”
In Boulogne-sur-Mer, Gaëtan Delsart is also nervous that a solution is found to this crisis which deprives him of his livelihood, by preventing him from following sea bass, sole, rays and other turbots when these species return to the wide towards British waters.
“We cannot survive on the French side”
“We are stuck on the French side and we cannot survive if we stay on the French side”, laments the 35-year-old fisherman, who was not granted a license because his boat was not equipped with the regulatory geolocation equipment to prove that he was fishing in British waters before 2016.
“I really hope that an agreement will be found for the two countries. The British colleagues need to export their goods and we need to fish. We all need to work”, he emphasizes.
If he has to resign himself to giving up his business and selling his boat, Gaëtan Delsart has few illusions about his chances of getting a fair price. “Who would buy a boat without a license?”