Fishing licences issued to French vessels (FOI)

Request

Please can I ask how many fishing licences have been granted to the French up to 1 April and how many are still pending.

Response

A previous Freedom of Information (FOI) response published in February 2021 provides information regarding the issue of temporary licences to French vessels up to 30 April 2021. This can be found on www.gov.je using the following link:

Fishing licences issued to French boats (FOI)

However, this position will change on 1 May 2021 when French vessels not issued with a Jersey fishing licence or those with VMS (satellite monitoring) capability will be prohibited from fishing in Jersey waters.

Vessels without VMS, which are generally are under 12 metres and operate static, rather than mobile fishing gear, will continue to be covered by a qualified extension of the previous amnesty which has been agreed until 30 June 2021.

As at 9 April 2021 the EU have provided data regarding 36 French Vessels that would like to apply for a Jersey fishing licence. These vessels have demonstrated that they have previously fished for 11 or more days in any one of the 12 month qualifying periods and will be issued with Jersey fishing licences authorising them to fish in Jersey waters after 30 April 2021.