According to French fishing industry body CNPMEM, the French industry has decided to withdraw from negotiations between France and the UK over access to scallop fisheries in the English Channel.
CNPMEM has issued a statement to this effect, commenting that the decision was made with regret and it leaves them bitter over the failure to reach an agreement, which CNPMEM attributes to the lack of flexibility displayed by the British side on sensible management of a shared resource.
‘Despite the considerable efforts that French fishermen working in the Channel were willing to make in terms of compensating the British for suspending their activities, the British side pressed for exorbitant amounts in compensation. We can not accept that French fisheries should be held to ransom in this way,’ CNPMEM’s spokesman said.
‘We regret that it is not possible to reach an agreement and we have informed the Minister of Agriculture that we are ending the discussions.’
According to the French industry body, they intend to continue to promote sustainable and responsible scallop fisheries on a voluntary basis, with a view to reaching common long-term management of this species both in terms of fishing periods and the selectivity of the gear.
