- Hauts-de-France fishermen are worried about Brexit because 75% of their fishing areas are in British waters.
- A priori, there will be no change until the end of the year, but negotiations on fishing must be concluded in July.
- The industrial district of Capécure, where seafood products are processed, is also half dependent on fish transiting through England.
The fishermen of Hauts-de-France fear to sink at peak with brexit, and what happened in Guernsey worries them greatly. Access to the fishing sectors located in British waters and on which 75% of the fish in their fisheries depend. "We are the region most dependent on these fishing areas," notes Olivier Leprêtre, president of the Hautes-de-France regional fisheries committee.
Guernsey's “bluff”?
And the ban for French fishermen in the waters of the Channel Island of Guernsey, since the entry into force of Brexit, only heightens concern. Even if Guernsey has a special status which falls under the British crown and not the British government.
"It may be a bluff, but what is certain is that, if we are ejected from British waters, we are dead, says Olivier Leprêtre. Imagine all the Belgian and Dutch fleets on smaller fishing areas! Cohabitation is likely to be complicated. "
The latter met, on Monday, the European Commissioner responsible for negotiating with Great Britain on the subject. "A priori, there will be no change until the end of the year, but negotiations must be concluded in July. "
An affected industrial district?
Last week, Senator (DVD) Jean-Pierre Decool asked the Minister of European Affairs, Amélie de Montchalin, on the subject during the parliamentary session. "Fishing will be a flagship axis of the stormy Brexit negotiations," he explains. And questions also arise about the competition induced by the possible reorientation of the flow of European fishermen towards our maritime area. "
Another area of concern related to fishing. In Boulogne-sur-Mer, the industrial district of Capécure and its dozens of warehouses where seafood products are processed, is also likely to be affected. More than 5,000 people handle nearly 400,000 tonnes of goods there each year. And, according to Frédéric Cuvillier, mayor (PS) of Boulogne-sur-Mer, "the fishing industry depends here for half of the fish transiting through England".
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