“Protection of our fish stocks, rejuvenation of our fishing fleet and careful management of the marine environment can be achieved through 6 distinct principles.”
Management of Jersey's territorial seas and fisheries over the past two decades has been largely dominated by the controversial Granville Bay Treaty. Jersey's obligation to adopt often inappropriate EU fisheries regulations (whilst not being within the EU), has brought further complications. The collapse of the Treaty however, through the Brexit process, has presented Jersey with a unique opportunity to take the lead in building a new management regime . Protection of our fish stocks, rejuvenation of our fishing fleet and careful management of the marine environment can be achieved through 6 distinct principles
- Don Thompson, President Jersey Fishermans Association
Our 6 Principles -
Protect our sovereignty -
The TECA (the agreement that replaced the Granville Bay Treaty) has left our fishers with just 3 nautical miles sovereignty - the average in the UK & EU is between 6 and 12 nm. The other crown dependencies have been granted 6 nm. The Ecrehous & the Minquiers (over which we have sovereignty) have not been included in our 3 mile fisheries limits, as required by international maritime law.
Establish a fair permit system -
Right now there are huge disparities between the permits that are issued to the Jersey & French fishers . Currently the French fishers have requested 344 permits with no costs attached to them, whilst the Jersey fishers have 132 that cost on average £ 80,000 - £100,000.
Respect our regulations -
Current regulations mean that Jersey fishers are only allowed to register boats up to 12m length overall, with an engine size of 221kw whereas 98 of the French vessels on the list for access to our waters are over 12m and up to 25m with up to 745kw.
Support sustainable fishing practices -
Larger fishing boats use different fishing methods that cause significant damage to our marine environment. Overfishing also means that ecosystems aren't given any time to rest and our fish stocks are in decline.
Safeguard local livelihoods -
Did you know that 75% of fish caught in Jersey waters are caught by the French fishers ? Our livelihoods are at risk - fisheries directly supports around 300 local jobs plus many more in associated industries such as engineering, maintenance, retail, hospitality, tourism etc.
Measure impact -
Proper fisheries management can only be achieved by recording and use of accurate catch data. Jersey's fleet are required by law to record all their catch. French vessels neither log their fishing activity in our waters, nor do they submit any catch data.
GLOBAL
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LOCAL
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