A British-flagged fishing boat was intercepted and detained in French waters on Saturday – less than 48 hours before the UK government was accused of ‘surrendering’ to the EU over fishing rights.
The Francesca TO 80 was spotted 30 nautical miles – or 55 kilometres – off the island of Batz.
It was then escorted to the port of Brest at dawn yesterday after inspectors suspected the crew of unlicensed fishing in French waters.
This constitutes an offense under the Rural and Maritime Fishing Code. French prosecutors have opened a probe and are yet to decide what action to take.
The trawler is registered to an address in Truro, Cornwall, according to media outlet Ouest France.
The incident came just days before the UK and EU struck a landmark deal over access to fishing waters.
European trawlers will now be granted access to British waters for a further 12 years under the agreement announced earlier today.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa at a summit in Lancaster House, London, to seal the deal.
The incident came just days before the UK and EU struck a landmark deal over access to fishing waters
Reform UK’s Nigel Farage said the 12-year deal on access for European boats ‘will be the end of the fishing industry’
British fishermen had been calling for a reduction in the EU’s quota.
The Brexit deal, reached under Boris Johnson, saw the UK regain 25 per cent of EU fishing quotas, but this was set to run out next year.
But the bloc will now maintain unfettered access to the UK’s coastal waters till 2038.
The UK will carry on agreeing annual quotas with the EU and Norway. Licences will be issued to control who fishes in British waters.
Elspeth MacDonald, who serves as chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, described the accord as a ‘horror show’.
The issue was believed to be a key stumbling bloc in negotiations, with a breakthrough finally arriving last night.
Reform UK’s Nigel Farage said the 12-year deal on access for European boats ‘will be the end of the fishing industry’.
Farage’s deputy leader Richard Tice said: ‘Labour surrenders. Brussels bureaucrats win again.’
The Francesca TO 80 isn’t the first British trawler to have been apprehended in recent years amid the ongoing tension over post-Brexit fishing rights.
The Cornelis Gert Jan, which is owned by MacDuff Shellfish of Scotland, was detained in 2021.
The Cornelis Gert Jan, which is owned by MacDuff Shellfish of Scotland, was detained in 2021
Cyrille Fournier, the deputy prosecutor of Le Havre, where the boat was seized, said its skipper had been asked to appear in court on August 11, 2022, accused of operating in French territorial waters without a valid permit.
‘The captain of the vessel did not have the authorisation required to fish in the French exclusive economic zone,’ he said.
Its owner insists it had been operating legally.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office were contacted for comment.
