Tag Archives: Jersey Fishermen
French and Jersey fishermen meet for first time since Harbour blockade
The meeting this month was the first since Norman and Breton fishing vessels blockaded the Harbour in May last year in a protest over post-Brexit fishing rights. Relations deteriorated to such an extent last summer that the UK sent two naval vessels to Jersey in response to the blockade and some French politicians threatened to cut off the Island’s electricity supply. The president of the Jersey Fishermen’s Association, Don Thompson, said the meetings were an important first step in improving relations with their French counterparts. ‘We invited the French fishermen and representatives to Jersey for this first meeting,’ Mr Thompson said. ‘We are working for solutions. Typical of fishermen, the meeting was very forthright. We got right to the point and did not hold back.’ >click to read< 10:20
Stuck in a Dead End: Jersey fishermen give away lobsters after France bans them from selling in French ports
Fishermen at St Helier Port, which was blockaded by French rivals this week, said they had been left in a vicious cycle due to the dispute. France issued a legal notice to British fishermen last night that they were no longer welcome into French ports after one Jersey boat was threatened with violence and turned back. Fisherman Wayne Auger, 46, said: ‘Nobody really knows how this is going to end. ‘The French want to fish on our waters and had this amnesty from our government after Brexit. ‘But we can pay sums like £60,000 for a licence and they pay nothing to fish alongside us. ‘Many of us are running out of bait for the lobster pots and won’t be fishing because we can’t sell the fish to France and the local need isn’t that big.’ photos, >click to read< 14:15
Meeting produces no solution for fishermen’s Brexit related fishing issues
Environment Minister John Young said following the discussions that he and his fellow ministers would continue to work with the industry, with another meeting due to take place before Easter.,, ‘The meeting welcomed the open and constructive discussions between ministers, officials and the local fisheries industry, and while a comprehensive solution was not reached, ‘It was a complete waste of time and a tick-box exercise to allow them to say they are engaging with industry. There was mention of financial support in three phases but it was read out “this is phase one, two, three. OK – let’s move on” and that was it,’ >click to read< 08:30
The $2 million fish? Jersey fishermen calling on government to allow targeting the bluefin tuna market
Don Thompson, president of the Jersey Fishermen’s Association, said Jersey should look to Prince Edward Island, the smallest Canadian province, whose industry for commercial and charter boat tuna fishing is worth about $2 million a year. In recent years, fishermen have reported seeing an ‘abundance’ of Atlantic blue fin tuna – which are classified as endangered – around the Island in the summer months but there is a total ban on catching them for Jersey vessels. No such ban applies to French boats. French newspaper Ouest France reported that 5.4 tonnes of tuna were landed at Granville market last year. A single fish can be worth thousands of pounds. >click to read< 21:18
New Jersey Fishermen, beach builders fight for ancient underwater sand hills
Just a few miles off New Jersey’s coast are a series of underwater hills on the ocean floor, made of perfect quality beach sand tens of thousands of years old. The value of these ancient sand hills to sea life, fishermen, scientists and beach-building engineers has set up a fight between those who would protect them and those who would mine them. And that battle is only expected to intensify as rising sea levels are expected to magnify. Meanwhile, every beach on New Jersey’s 127-mile coast will soon have been engineered or replenished after 2012’s Hurricane Sandy, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers promising to keep replenishing them for another 50 years. There are only two projects left to do – the Absecon Island project covering Longport through Atlantic City, and the Monmouth/Ocean counties project covering Manasquan to Barnegat inlets. Read the story here 14:12
