Tag Archives: English Channel
The bomb-hunters scouring UK waters for unexploded weapons
“We are finding unexploded ordnance and dealing with it on a daily basis,” Mr Gooderham says. “There are many that we don’t know about.” Despite being dropped – or dumped – decades ago, unexploded ordnance (UXO) continues to pose a very real danger to those working in our waters. “The real problem is when fishing vessels and dredgers encounter unexploded ordnance,” says Mr Gooderham. “That is when it becomes dangerous.” In 2020, fishing vessel Galwad-Y-Mor was thrown into the air when a World War Two bomb exploded 25 miles (40km) north of Cromer, Norfolk. Five crew members were injured, including one left blinded in one eye. photos, more, >>click to read<< 07:06
European parliament votes to ban ‘fly shooting’ fishing in part of Channel
While the European parliament does not have the power to ban the fishing method, MEPs said the vote on Tuesday sent an important message to decision-makers about the impact of fly-shooting on coastal fishing communities. The vote on an amendment to the common fisheries policy, involving access to territorial waters, will now be considered by the European Commission, the parliament and EU member states. Last year the UK was accused of allowing vessels using the fishing method “unfettered access” to the Channel without proper assessment of the impact on fish, the seabed or the livelihoods of coastal communities. >click to read< 15:12
Channel fishermen protest to ban supertrawlers, fly-shooters
Fishermen from the UK and France have met in the English Channel to protest against industrial fishing practices. Boats from Dover, Rye, Newhaven and Boulogne-sur-mer gathered in the Bassurelle Sandbank marine protected area. They called for politicians to ban supertrawlers and fly-shooting from protected Channel waters. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said vessels must follow UK sustainability rules. >click to read< 12:33
English Channel Fly-Shooter Agreement Breakdown – Opinions are divided!
For some, fly-shooting is seen as a gentle method of fishing, with low fuel consumption and limited seabed impact. This is a technique has become increasingly popular, although in the Eastern Channel region and in other parts of France it has come in for criticism from small-scale fishermen, who claim the fly-shooters are stripping their grounds bare in record time. Fly-shooting is now prohibited inside the 12-mile zone off the coast of Brittany, and in the Channel, the situation has become critical, with more and more French, Belgian, Dutch and English fly-shooters operating in the region. >photo’s, click to read< 13:29
Devon lifeboats race to French trawler fire
Two South Devon lifeboats took part in a five-hour mission far out in the English Channel after a French trawler caught fire. Firefighters were winched down to the deck of the stricken trawler during the operation. Torbay and Salcombe both launched their RNLI lifeboats to go to the aid of the French fishermen. A spokesman for Torbay RNLI said the trawler had suffered an engine room fire 36 miles south east of Berry Head on Sunday afternoon. Four French trawlers joined the two lifeboats in the rescue,,, The stricken trawler was towed out of the Channel shipping lanes,,, >click to read< 09:45
EU ‘fly-shooting’ fishing boats in Channel spark concerns
The UK has been accused of allowing a fleet of mainly EU “fly-shooting” fishing boats “unfettered access” to the Channel, without a proper assessment of the impact on fish populations, the seabed or the livelihoods of small-scale fishers. Organisations representing small-scale fishers on both sides of the Channel have warned that the fleet is having a “devastating” effect on their catches. They are calling for a review of the vessels’ UK licences until an impact assessment has been carried out. Fly-shooter fishing boats, sometimes called Danish or Scottish seiners,,, >click to read< 08:41
Eastern Channel fly-shooter agreement reached.
An accord on the activities of fly-shooters in some English Channel waters comes into effect today, following an agreement having been reached between representatives of French, Dutch, Belgian and UK fishing sectors. So far the agreement applies only to Eastern Channel waters, although the parties concerned have agreed to meet again not later than September to discuss further measures. Fly-shooting vessels are limited to a maximum of eight days at sea in each block of two weeks, the first of which commences on 19th April. Time at sea is to be calculated from logbook data, so each sea day starts at departure from port. >click to read< 22:26
Shipwreck in the English Channel: the bodies of the three sailors found lifeless in the wreck of the ship
At the end of the day, Thursday, January 14, 2021, the trawler “Breiz”, located off Port-en-Bessin-Huppain, is in a bad position in raging seas. During the towing by the SNSM, the fishing boat “embarks a blade and suddenly sinks” around 11:30 p.m., the maritime prefecture said in a statement. The Cross then broadcasts a Mayday Relay message.,,, The bodies of the three missing young fishermen have been found,,, >click to read< 10:50
Lawyer appealing for release of fishermen: radar casts doubt on guilty verdict for £53m cocaine haul
It began like most other fishing trips for the crew of the Galwad. The sea was choppier than they’d have liked but the four men on board were hopeful of rich pickings in the spring tides off the Isle of Wight. They had no idea that the same stretch of the English Channel was that night the focus of a sophisticated policing operation centred on a container ship from Brazil. Around midnight on 30 May 2010 the Galwad came to the attention of the police surveillance teams. When its crew arrived on shore hours later, lugging baskets of lobster, they were arrested. >click to read< 12:06
HM Coastguard Rescues Four Fishermen from Capsized Vessel in English Channel
Four fisherman have been rescued after their fishing vessel capsized in the English Channel approximately 14 nautical miles south of Eastbourne, England on Thursday. The HM Coastguard successfully winched two of the fisherman from the overturned hull of the fishing vessel, while a nearby ship rescued two others from the water. >click to read<18:37
Is Brexit about to rewrite the rules for fishing on the English Channel?
French fishermen are anxious to avoid a Brexit that could shut them out of British territorial waters, while in British ports, trawlermen hope such moves could reinvigorate their fishing industry. The “Scallop Wars” in August saw French boats attack British ones in the Seine Bay off the Normandy coast. Paris had banned French boats from scalloping in the area between May and October to preserve the stocks. So when British boats exercised their rights to go for them, a French flotilla mustered, hurling rocks and smoke bombs and ramming the UK trawlers. >click to read<10:52
Scallop wars barely over as new accusations from Cornish fishermen spark crab wars
The scallop wars are barely over but already new tensions have emerged in the English Channel in the form of crab wars. Cornish fishermen have accused French trawlers of deliberately sabotaging their crab pots, costing them hundreds of thousands of pounds. They said French trawlers had been seen in English waters towing nets “without a care in the world” within the UK’s 12-mile limit. Paul Trebilcock, chief executive of the Cornish Fish Producers Organisation (CFPO), said: “They are just dragging through all the gear, they break the ropes, damage the pots or just tow them away altogether.” >click to read<11:13
Scallop War – French fishermen vow to ‘use the heavy artillery’ in next Channel clash with English scallop rivals
French fishermen now appear to be planning to step up their attacks on British vessels as they branded out trawlers “roast beef”. One, Pierre Sophie, raged the “war” is not over and vowed to keep attacking UK fisherman in the English Channel. In one rant, he said: “Will (sic) come back with more boats! We’ll have to get the heavy artillery out!!!” He also shared footage of the violent clash on Tuesday with the caption: “Bunch of b*****ds”. Another fisherman, , Steph LF, boasted about the attack, saying how “the little French frog… ate some f***ing British roast beef”. >click to read<11:34
English Channel Scallop War Erupts! French fishermen accused of ‘endangering’ lives of British fishermen
French and British fishermen clashed on Monday night in a row over scallops. Tensions continued to rise in the early hours of Tuesday morning as 40 French boats appeared to surround five British vessels leading to an angry stand-off. Rocks, paint pots, flares and cans of oil were thrown, while one boat crashed into the side of a rival trawler. One of the British boats involved suffered a broken window, while another suffered fire damage. Video, >click to read<09:23
Offshore wind topic blows back onto Ocean City agenda
Offshore wind farms near Ocean City’s coast will again come up for discussion at Monday’s Town Council meeting. Meghan Lapp, a fisheries liaison for Seabreeze Seafreeze Ltd. in Rhode Island, will outline concerns with how wind farms may affect commercial fishing, according to the agenda document. The presentation will also feature local fisherman George Topping. The addition of wind farms could restrict fishing areas, according to the presentation outline in the agenda documents. Deepwater Wind and US Wind received approval in 2017 to construct two wind turbine projects off of Ocean City. >click to read<09:56
The drug-smuggling fishermen vowing to clear their name – Why was there no trace of cocaine?
On 29 May 2010, a small fishing boat left the Isle of Wight on what its crew claim was a routine trip to catch lobster and crab in the English Channel. At the same time, a major surveillance operation was also under way, led by the Serious Organised Crime Agency – which had intelligence about cocaine being on board a giant container ship sailing from South America. That night, one of the ships being monitored and the men’s fishing boat briefly came close together – though exactly how close is still disputed. click here to read the story 11:56
Fresh evidence that could have cleared the ‘Cocaine Crew’ of £53m smuggling plot is REJECTED
Five men serving prison terms of up to 24 years for a £53 million drug smuggling plot have lost their bid to appeal – despite fresh scientific evidence suggesting the version of events presented by the prosecution at the trial was ‘impossible’. Almost four years after The Mail on Sunday published the first of three investigations casting doubt on the convictions, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which has the power to refer possible miscarriages of justice to the Court of Appeal, has decided to take no action. In doing so, it is rejecting expert evidence that the fishing boat reputedly used to pick up holdalls packed with cocaine from the English Channel never actually reached the spot where the bags might have been dumped. click here to read the story 10:31
‘Objects thrown’ as Brixham fishermen are threatened by French vessels in the English Channel
BRIXHAM fishermen have been involved in a fracas with their French counterparts in the English Channel this morning. The scallop trawler Joanna C was surrounded by ten French vessels in the Baie de Seine, off Le Harve, with the Brixham fishermen then claiming that objects were thrown at them.The vessel has now been forced to abandon its fishing trip and return to port in Devon. Derek Meredith, who owns the Joanna C,He said: “The French fishermen surrounded my trawler and threatened to smash it up.” Read the rest here 18:29
