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“Aside from a few exceptions, all French ports will no longer be accessible to British boats,” France’s European affairs minister, Clement Beaune, said in an interview on French TV station CNEWS, referring to vessels that offload fish and produce.
Some three or four ports would remain open to British fishing vessels when the closure comes into force on Tuesday, with the exact number decided in the week ahead, he said, adding: “There will be no tolerance, no indulgence.”
Beaune also said that security checks begun on Wednesday night had intercepted two British vessels “that were not respecting the rules.”
The French minister for the sea, Annick Girardin, had earlier confirmed that two British vessels had been stopped and fined, with one diverted to a French port.
One of the boats was not listed on the European Union’s approved list of UK fishing vessels, and the regional government director “immediately issued” an order to divert the vessel to the French port of Le Havre, his statement said.
A UK government spokesperson said the proposed French actions were “unjustified” and “do not appear to be compatible” with the Brexit agreement or wider international law.
“We regret the confrontational language that has been consistently used by the French government on this issue, which makes this situation no easier to resolve,” the spokesperson said in a statement, adding that the government has decided to summon the French Ambassador.
The other boat was fined for not complying with orders to allow French authorities to board the vessel to conduct checks, the statement tweeted by Girardin said. Additional checks by French maritime gendarmes found no further infraction of fishing regulations.
The boats were stopped off the coast of Le Havre, in the English Channel. Legal proceedings could see the first vessel’s catch and the boat itself confiscated against the payment of bail, the statement said, adding that, “the captain of the fishing vessel risks criminal sanctions.”
Fishing…
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Source : cnn
