The United Kingdom will issue provisional entry licenses for European fishing vessels to be able to access British waters from Friday, announced Thursday evening the French Ministry of the Sea, a few hours from Brexi.
In total, 1,500 “Provisional licenses” will be granted on the evening of Thursday to allow European fishing vessels to go to the British exclusive economic zone (EEZ) from Friday January 1, the ministry said in a statement. These permissions will be “Transformed into definitive licenses in the coming days”, according to the press release.
Licenses still pending
Conversely, fishing licenses for the 6-12 nautical mile zone and the Channel Islands cannot be issued by Friday. European ships are therefore not allowed to go there, even if the “Dormant gear” present can remain there until obtaining ” in the coming days “ of the license, specifies the ministry.
A trade agreement on fishing in British waters was concluded in extremis on December 24 between London and Brussels, and applies from January 1, 2021.
In the morning of Thursday, the Breton fisheries committees had invited in a press release the “Armaments not to remain in UK waters after midnight 31 December 2020 and to remove dormant gear before the end of the year”, due to the uncertainty surrounding the situation at sea on the first effective day of Brexit.
A transition ” without interruption “
The president of the Departmental Council of Manche Marc Lefèvre on Thursday welcomed the “Constructive dialogue” who allowed this “Activity essential to the economy” de la Manche to make the transition ” without interruption “, despite the tight deadlines.
He also mentioned the maintenance of access rights until “The establishment of licenses within 90 days for Guernsey and 120 days for Jersey”.
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