Sept 18^th: Agreement reached on scallop fishing: BBC & Guardian

Sept 13^th Defra George Eustice ‘Mr Speaker I wish to take this opportunity to update the House on recent developments regarding the scallop fishery in the Bay de Seine following altercations that occurred on the 27 August. Any violence taking place is unacceptable and the safety of our fishing fleet is paramount. Subsequent negotiations have regrettably not resulted in an agreement.

The scallop fishery is not governed by the quota regime that pertains for most fin fish species but instead by the Western Waters Regime which places limitations on effort for larger vessels over 15 metres. Vessels over 15 metres in size are limited by the number of kilowatt days they spend at sea and these units of effort are tradeable between producer organisations in much the same way that quota is. Vessels of under 15 metres in length are not subject to the Western Waters Regime and do not require an effort allocation. The background to the current dispute is that French domestic law requires that French vessels cannot trawl scallops between 15 May and 31 October, at the latest, partly to protect the species during their seeding season and partly to maximise the scallops’ economic value. Preserving the sustainability of our stocks is important – between May and June UK fishermen refrain from fishing in the area to avoid the scallop gestation period. These domestic French rules do not apply to other EU Member States.’   Click here to read more