Channel Islands fishermen are split over news Guernsey is to introduce fishing licences in the waters around the island.
The States will debate new laws in March that will allow Guernsey to control the sea up to 12 miles offshore.
Guernsey’s Fishermen’s Association say it is marvellous news for them, while their Jersey counterparts believe it could be devastating for their industry.
Guernsey fishermen have a tough job – and in recent years it has been made even harder. The lack of control over the sea around Guernsey has seen an influx of foreign vessels competing with them for fish. So they are welcoming the news that others will need a licence to fish in their waters.
Guernsey Fishermen’s Association President Dougal Lane said: “We can’t actually quantify how much extra problems it’s caused because we haven’t had the licensing, so we don’t know. But certainly we’ve had a huge amount of very large scallopers off the west coast there – 20 a side scallop dredgers you know several tons of steel on each vessel being dragged round the bottom.
“That does a massive amount of damage, and also we’ve had problems with the local crabbers trying to move their gear at all, you know it’s been towed away English and French vessels – and I’m sure this licensing will sort some of those problems out.”
For Jersey fishermen it is not such good news. They say not being able to fish in Guernsey’s deeper waters could be disastrous for them. But they understand why restrictions need to be put in place.
Jersey fisherman Phil Channing said: “You had half the English fleet fishing in their waters – some pretty big boats doing a lot of damage – so I can understand why they’re doing it and they do need to do something like that. I just hope they don’t exclude Jersey. I mean we’re like their brother island aren’t we.”
This is not the first time Guernsey has tried to take control of the seas around the island. In 2003 the island introduced a licensing system that governed the waters up to the 12 mile limit – but in 2007 the Privy Council said those measures were unlawful and since then they have only been able to protect up to three miles offshore. The new system will see them reclaim control between the three and twelve mile limit.
It should mean Sea Fisheries can protect fish stocks and the local fishing industry – by controlling how the area is fished and how much is taken. Getting the agreement in place has taken a lot of time and effort, but they are adamant it was worth it.
Commerce and Employment Minister, Deputy Carla McNulty, said: ” Our Sea Fisheries Officers last Autumn were having to make a lot of visits to the various parts of the British Isles in order to get the commitment and the sign up, but I’m delighted that we’ve had that full commitment and sign up now and we can actually progress and put something that’s going to be far more sustainable for our long-term fishing industry.”