One insider believes the Lady T vessel was seized in a tit-for-tat feud after a French skipper was fined in a landmark ruling.
A fisherman emptying a net full of fish into his trawler. (Image: Getty)
French authorities seized a British fishing boat in the English Channel in response to UK authorities fining a French boat for breaking maritime rules, it has been claimed. The Lady T, from Eastbourne, East Sussex, was seized by the French naval ship The Pluvier on Thursday for fishing for whelks without a licence.
The vessel could be confiscated and its owner slapped with a £63,000 fine for “non-authorised fishing in French waters” by a non-EU boat. Olivier Leprêtre, chair of the regional fishing committee in northern France, noted on Sunday that the small English boat may have been seized in a tit-for-tat process, after a French skipper was fined £40,000 in a landmark case in April. In that instance, the skipper and owner of the French-registered vessel Pierre D’Ambre were fined £40,000 in Newcastle Magistrates Court after being accused of bottom-trawling in a prohibited area of the Offshore Brighton Marine Conservation Zone.
The Pluvier, the French naval ship which seized a British fishing vessel (Image: French Defence Ministry)
The incident saw the skipper and owner of the French-registered ship Pierre D’Ambre hit with a fine in Newcastle Magistrates Court after it was alleged his vessel was bottom-trawling in a prohibited area of the Offshore Brighton Marine Conservation Zone.
Mr Leprêtre told The Times: “Until now the French Government has always favoured discussions to repression, as opposed to the British Government which always imposes rules that are more and more restrictive, and more and more counterproductive for French fishermen.
“There comes a moment when you have to say: Stop.” A French official told the same newspaper the Lady T was “looking for it” after entering waters reserved for French boats. “One moment it was in French waters, the next moment it was next to them,” they added.
Labour’s EU reset deal allows European fisherman to fish in UK waters for the next 12 years (Image: Getty)
The row comes after Sir Keir Starmer granted EU fishermen the right to fish in British waters for the next 12 years under his Brexit reset deal. Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, blasted the French for “shameful double standards” after the Lady T was seized.
He told The Telegraph: “This shows shameful double standards. This year alone, the French have failed to stop 13,000 illegal immigrants crossing the Channel – taking no action whatsoever at sea and often ushering the illegal immigrants into UK waters.
“Yet when a UK fishing vessel is in French waters all of a sudden they are magically able to act. If the French can now intercept boats then they should start stopping the boats with illegal immigrants – as international law obliges them to do.
“The Belgians can do it, and the French should too. We’ve all had enough of the French waving illegal immigrants through into UK waters.”
A Government spokesperson said: “We are aware that on May 22 a UK-registered vessel was detained by the French fisheries authorities.
“We are supporting a British national, and we are in touch with the local authorities. Our staff stand ready to support British Nationals overseas 24/7.
“As the vessel remains subject to an ongoing investigation by French fisheries authorities, we are unable to comment further at this time.”
Most Popular Comments
1st Most liked comment • 2 hours ago11
“Well done Starmer, just keep giving everything away why don’t you, and keep taking from the British people.”
2nd Most liked comment • 2 hours ago11
“Another example that British politicians don’t learn history or the lessons learned …”
3rd Most liked comment • 2 hours ago11
“No parity; only GBN has given this full coverage: The French vessel was bottom …”