Scallop war flares up again as British fishing boat seized by France: French captains accuse British trawlers of ‘plundering our resources’ in latest flare-up

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By William

By Taryn Pedler

Published: | Updated:

A British fishing boat has been seized by France after a French captain accused British trawlers of plundering their resources in the latest flare-up of the ‘Scallop War’.

The Scottish fishing boat, named the Star of Jura, was seized on Monday off the coast of Calvados, in the Normandy region of north-west France, after the vessel was ordered to enter the Channel port of Le Havre on suspicion of capture of undersized scallops.

The skipper, who has not been named, took his 19-metre scallop dredger into port on Saturday while being escorted by a maritime police boat after an inspection revealed an illegal catch, French authorities revealed.

French inspectors boarding the Star of Jura found up to one tonne of undersized scallops in the mega catch of 16 tonnes, with the cargo caught just outside the Seine Bay fishing zone.

‘We are fed up. Not only do we not have the same standards, but they come to plunder the resources right in front of our homes!’ said an angry Norman fishing captain.

The fishing boat Scottish Star of Jura (photo) was seized by France on Monday after an inspection revealed an illegal catch

French authorities said British ships often use dredging equipment that allows them to bring to the surface scallops with a diameter of less than 11cm, which is the smallest allowed by law.

Under the rules, fishing for smaller scallops disrupts their reproduction and fishermen are expected to return the undersized molluscs to the sea.

After the Scottish boat was diverted to port, local Norman fishermen were furious at the ‘highly punishing difference in fishing rules’.

‘The English can fish for longer, with less restrictive standards and equipment. And we must watch without hesitation as they plunder the deposits and threaten the resources for years,” Pascal, a fishing captain from Calvados LeParisien said.

The Public Prosecution Service in Normandy will decide, based on the police report, whether action will be taken against the captain of the British ship.

The captain now also faces a fine of up to £12,500 and the seizure of their entire cargo, worth around £29,000, authorities told local media.

The incident is just the latest episode in the decade-old ‘shell war’ involving British boats and the French authorities.

Normandy fishermen, who depend on scallops for as much as 50 percent of their income, accuse the British of destroying their scallop beds.

The French want their ‘Anglo-Saxon’ counterparts to stay north of the line running from Barfleur to Cap d’Antifer, both of which are in Normandy, and use only small ships to avoid dwindling supplies.

Normandy fisheries chief Dimitri Rogoff said in 2021: “The French turned to the British to stop them fishing, and they clashed.”

French boats are currently only allowed to fish for scallops from October 1 to May 15, to allow local stocks to reproduce and regenerate.

In the most dramatic scallop clash in 2018, a group of French boats reportedly attacked British ships in the Bay of the Seine, when rocks, smoke bombs and other objects were allegedly launched at English and Scottish vessels.

History of the Scallop Wars

The British scallop fishery is worth around £120 million a year and provides more than 1,200 jobs.

But under EU law the British are not allowed to fish within 12 miles of the French coast.

British fishermen can dredge for scallops in the 40 miles of international waters known as the Bay of the Seine – while the French have access from November to February.

Fierce competition between the countries has been simmering since the long-running dispute erupted in 2012 over an incident in which French fishermen tried to ram British boats.

The dispute was nicknamed ‘Guerre de la Coquille’ when British and French fishermen clashed again this time off the coast of Le Havre, France.

French fishermen believe that British fishermen came within France’s twelve-mile zone in the Bay of the Seine to dredge for scallops.

The situation was made worse by the fact that French fishermen were no longer allowed to fish for scallops during the summer months, as a measure to allow the stocks to spawn and regenerate.

But British fishermen were allowed to dredge scallops all year round, even though they only had a limited number of days to access the best fishing grounds.

Militant French fishermen demanded a boycott of British-caught scallops as the war over fishing rights intensified.

They rammed British boats, pelted them with iron bars and stones and tried to hold their propellers with rope.

Protests have seen Norman fishermen knock over bins of scallops in supermarkets, throw fish at shoppers and even set fire to live lambs.

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