On 5 May 2021, the UK Government announced that it was sending two Royal Naval offshore patrol vessels as “a precautionary measure”, in agreement with the Government of Jersey, to police the shores of the largest of the Channel islands. HMS Severn could be called upon to inspect fishing vessels, while HMS Tamar could provide maritime security patrols as needed. This move was in response to an imminent early morning blockade of the island’s main port of St Helier by a French fishing fleet on 6 May, to prevent a cargo-carrying ferry, the Commodore Clipper, from docking and delivering supplies to Jersey. Tensions have been rising in recent months and all of this came as no surprise. The Jersey offices of the Normandy Region, County Council of La Manche, and Maison de la Normandie et de la Manche have all been closed. France has been threatening to block imports of Jersey products for some time, which could be particularly damaging to an economy heavily dependent on trade with its neighbour. More ominously, there has been talk of disrupting the supply of electricity to Jersey via three undersea power cables from Normandy, which normally provide 95 per cent of the island’s requirements, although the island claims it has enough reserve capacity in its power stations to provide its own electricity if needed.
Tensions over shared fishing rights in the English Channel (La Manche) are by no means new. What is new is the context of the current dispute. Jersey has never joined the EU as a member-state, although it has had some limited engagement with the EU through Protocol 3 of the original Treaty of Accession of the UK. Fishing rights in Jersey’s waters have been determined by the Fishing Agreement for the Bay of Granville of 1839, which was last amended in July 2000. This first- ever international fishing treaty restricted Jersey’s exclusive fishing zone to a three-nautical-mile limit around its shores. The agreement was finally set aside when Jersey signed up to the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which came into effect from New Year’s Day 2021. Under the new agreement, French fishermen have only restricted access to Jersey’s waters, requiring licences for the purpose.
On 30 April 2021, the very last day of a four-month grace period after Brexit Day, the government of Jersey finally issued fishing licences to 41 Norman and Breton boats, over 12 metres long and equipped with Vessel Monitoring Systems to allow tracking of their locations and monitoring of their activities. Licences were only granted to vessels with a track history of fishing in Jersey waters for at least ten days in each of the past three years. The French protested that not enough of their vessels had been given licences, particularly those landing shellfish, and also claimed that new restrictions on fishing days and the fishing equipment allowable had brought in new and unanticipated zoning rules for Jersey’s waters. The new policies apparently aim to protect Jersey’s fishing interests, as its small and declining fleet of around 75 registered vessels is no match for hundreds of competing French boats.
The Bailiwick of Jersey is something of a special case, which complicates matters. The largest of the Channel Islands, at only 9 miles long by 5 miles wide, is a self-governing British Crown Dependency and not a part of the UK, not even a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. Despite their proximity to mainland France, the islands once known as les Iles Normandes (now properly Iles Anglo-Normandes) have been linked to the English Crown ever since the Norman invasion of England in 1066. Except for two periods of occupation, by the French between 1461-67 and Nazi Germany from 1940 to 1945, the islands have remained Crown dependencies. It is worth recalling that the UK government made no attempt to defend the islands at the time of the Nazi takeover in 1940, on the grounds that they had little strategic significance.
Despite a faintly Gallic ambience, Jersey has consistently looked to the UK for support with its defence and international relations. But even during the UK’s membership of the EU, Jersey chose to stay outside, except for the purposes of free trade in its goods, which were treated as though they had originated from within the UK. Jersey is nearer to France, 14 miles away at its nearest point, than it is to England and depends on its much larger neighbour for its economy. Despite these close links, the island’s economy is being challenged by angry French fishermen fighting for what they see as their inalienable and time-honoured rights to fish in its waters. The UK government has intervened in a show of strength, likened by some to gunboat diplomacy, to support Jersey at its request. This is yet another post-Brexit scenario which has arisen from a lack of preparation for Brexit Day. We can expect more reactive sabre-rattling in the coming days before the situation is hopefully resolved amicably, without a show of force.
Ashis Banerjee