French fishing boats (illustration).

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Thibault Camus / AP / SIPA

The presidents of the Brittany and Normandy regions are satisfied with the agreement reached on Thursday between the European Union and the United Kingdom.

The fishing component of it "preserves the interests of French fishermen", who "will not remain at the quayside on January 2," said Loïg Chesnais-Girard and his Norman counterpart Hervé Morin.

#Brexit - Fishing was a major topic for us.

And access to water and the balances found until June 2026 preserve the interests of our regions and the sustainability of our fleets and our sectors.

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- Hervé Morin (@Herve_Morin) December 24, 2020

"Brexit will remain a bad adventure for Europe but this agreement preserves for the moment fishing, a major activity of our regions", declared the two presidents, in a joint statement, estimating that "the worst would have been a Brexit without agreement ”.

“Now, we must move forward and analyze precisely the impacts of this agreement, for fishing, for the sector, and in particular the question of reciprocity.

We will have to see under what conditions British fishermen will have access to French territorial waters, so that the non-quota resource is preserved (for example the scallop) ”, they however qualified.

The essential access to the Channel Islands

Hervé Morin and Loïg Chesnais-Girard also called for “respect for the agreement of the Bay of Granville for access to the Channel Islands”, which they believe is “of paramount importance for French fishermen”.

The agreement reached on Thursday provides for giving European fishermen access to British waters for a transitional period of 5½ years, until June 2026. During this transition, the EU will have to gradually give up 25% of its catch, which amount to around 650 million euros per year.

“Access to water as well as the balances found until June 2026 preserve the interests of our regions and the sustainability of our fleets and our sectors,” said Hervé Morin and Loïg Chesnais-Girard.

However, this is not the opinion of all.

For their part, most European sailors have expressed their bitterness, almost unanimously denouncing the lack of visibility that this agreement generates for them.

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