Nobody believed it would happen – but it has. An agreement regulating seine netting activity in the Eastern Channel has been reached between French, Dutch and Belgian fishermen and their organisations, reports Darianna Myszka.
The agreement has been drawn up, and Olivier Le Nézet, President of the French National Fisheries Committee (CNPMEM), states that this ‘gentlemen’s ageement’ will ‘probably be signed in the next few days by all Dutch and Belgian parties.’
‘All the French industry organisations have already signed it,’ he states.
The last attempt to reach such an agreement camr to grief in 2023 over a number of points on which no agreement could be reached.
This new accord provides sets out technical measures, days at sea and restrictions on fishing activity within France’s 12-mile limit.
‘This is real progress,’ according to the French National Fisheries Committee.
The number of vessels will be stabilised at three (plus one extra) for Belgium, 21 for France and 24 for the Netherlands. In the Eastern Channel, vessels are allocated 8 calendar days of seine fishing per period of 14-days. An initial assessment of the implementation of the measures will be carried out in June 2025, and then on an annual basis, at which point each party may submit proposals for additional measures. Discussions may also cover adjacent areas.
Technical measures are introduced for maximum seine rope length, weight and diameter, as well as an 80mm minimum mesh size.
Agreement has been reached on restrictions within the French 12-mile zone, including limiting the area within 9 miles of the coast in 7d to smaller seiners, as this is a key area for coastal netters and potting boats. An additional closed area is the 12-mile zone between Cherbourg to Le Tréport.
POs have agreed to apply sanctions in the event of infringements, and CNPMEM has stated that it would like to see the French authorities monitoring fishing activity in the Eastern Channel.
The French signatories have also stated that they wish to ‘see the terms of this agreement transposed into European regulations’ to give it legal weight.
‘Pending completion of this institutional [the signatories] undertake to comply with the following rules from the date of signature of this protocol,’ the agreement between French, Dutch and Belgian fishing organisations states.
