Faroe Islands in EU herring spat

We’ve had cod wars, so why not herring wars?

Herring trade sanctions begin against Faroe Islands

Slaettaberg is one of only 10 boats which make up the Faroese pelagic fleet.

EU trade sanctions against the Faroe Islands have now been introduced because of an international dispute over who has the right to fish herring.

Tensions have been growing since the small North Atlantic country trebled its previous share of the catch.

The sanctions mean European countries are banned from importing herring landed by the Faroese.

In the Faroese capital Torshavn there are boats everywhere – rowing boats, cruisers, yachts and even a tall ship.

But, strangely, no herring boats.

Torshavn, the Faroese capital, is home to boats of many varieties.

And yet Government House, which overlooks the waters, has become embroiled in a big fight because of them. Further round the coast is the small community of Kollafjordur where a large boat, the Slaettaberg, is unloading its catch of herring.

She is one of only 10 boats which make up this country’s pelagic fleet, compared with 29 in the UK.

Bogi Jacobsen, a Faroese skipper, told me his government is right to take on Europe.

“We know that the EU are fishing a lot more than the quota is,” he said.

“They are allowed to throw fish out, not taken off the quota so the fact is this is not about sustainability, as stated by the EU.

“This is about who has the right to fish, who has the right to the quota.”

The Faroe Islands has a population of just 50,000, and until 2012 their share of all the herring available was 5%.

But this year, without agreement, they decided to land 17%.

Prime Minister Kaj Leo Johannesen told me they were right to catch more.

He said: “The mackerel and the herring is in huge quantities much more into our area and that is what we are reacting on, that we own a bigger part of this stock.”

He told me the migration patterns of herring are changing, that they are eating more food in Faroese waters and that that is damaging other stocks.

‘Negotiated solution’

So punishing the Faroes for wanting more, he believes, is wrong.

“It’s not the guy who is fishing 5% who is destroying the stock, it is the guy who is fishing 95%.

“But we hope we will have a negotiated solution.”

Faroese PM Kaj Leo Johannesen (right) was visited by Danish Foreign Secretary Villy Sovndal.

In town is the Foreign Secretary of Denmark, Villy Sovndal, here to show his support to a nation which is part of the Danish kingdom.But as an EU member, his country is in an awkward position.

The Danes have no plans to defy the European ruling but the dispute has been referred to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas.

Asked what the UN convention should decide he said: “I am not the judge, I leave it to the judges to take that decision.”

But challenged that his response did not sound like a wholehearted support he repeated: “No, I just say I am not the judge, it is not Denmark that is going to decide this matter.”

Scotland’s fishermen, where the UK’s pelagic fleet is largely based, have welcomed the introduction of sanctions and describe what the Faroese are doing as an “astonishing act of irresponsibility”.

Increasing markets

Iceland, also failing to reach agreed settlements with the other coastal states, says: “The extreme action is not the way to solve a disagreement between friendly countries.

“While we do not condone the Faroe Islands’ approach to managing its herring quotas, we object on the strongest possible terms to the EU’s coercive measures.”

Nobody will admit how much the sanctions will hurt the Faroe Islands, instead saying they have increasing markets in Russia, the Far East and Africa.

But they will be back around the negotiating table in London next month.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-23855798

Gibraltar has its apes, but Spain loves monkey business

Perhaps British fishermen could join with their Moroccan brethren and play silly buggers in the waters off Ceuta and Melilla?

Tense standoff in British waters as reef project is completed

A major operation involving Gibraltar police and Royal Navy vessels yesterday prevented Spanish fishermen and the Guardia Civil from hampering work to lay an artificial reef in Gibraltar waters off the runway.

The police and naval vessels created a maritime cordon around the locally-based tug Eliott and the barge MHB Dole as dozens of purpose-built concrete blocks were dumped into the sea. But there was high tension on the sea, particularly in the morning when the Guardia Civil vessel Rio Tormes carried out a high-speed manoeuvre close to the tug.

The Spanish launch weaved through British vessels and swerved to create a large wake, despite attempts to cut it off.

“There is no doubt that it was a dangerous manoeuvre on their part,” one source told the Chronicle. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss operational matters.

That initial incident late morning was followed by chaotic scenes as two Spanish fishing boats – the Alejandro and the Divina Providencia – sailed dangerously close to the barge as it continued to lay blocks.

By this time there were three Guardia Civil boats at the scene, the Rio Tormes, the Rio Cedeña and a rigid-hull inflatable boat. The Royal Gibraltar Police, the Gibraltar Defence Police and the Royal Navy’s Gibraltar Squadron had seven boats there in total. There was a frenzy of activity as the British vessels tried to prevent the fishermen from approaching and the Guardia Civil tried to shield them, creating a volatile and potentially dangerous situation.

It was those safety concerns that eventually led to the British and Spanish vessels extracting the fishermen from the meleé.

Three high-level sources in Gibraltar, one of them closely involved in the operation, told the Chronicle that Spanish vessels assisted at this stage in order to remove the fishermen. All three sources also spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to do so openly.

In a statement last night, the Gibraltar Government said there were “conflicting reports” about the role played by the Guardia Civil.

The tussle over, an RGP vessel and a Guardia Civil vessel approached the fishing boats to speak to the fishermen, who eventually left the area.

Throughout the day, the tug and the barge continued to load blocks in port and return to the site off the runway to drop them at sea to create the reef.

They were watched by the Guardia Civil but the Spanish vessels held back, save for one incident toward the end of the day when the Rio Cedeña moved in for a closer look but was blocked by the British vessels.

“During this afternoon, the tug and barge were able to carry out their work without interference,” the Government statement said.

The Gibraltar Government said the reef would encourage marine life and help regenerate the seabed. But in marking the boundary of British Gibraltar territorial waters in that area, the line of cement blocks will also stop Spanish fishermen from raking the seabed for conch in breach of Gibraltar laws.

That fact was not lost on Francisco Gómez, the captain of the Divina Providencia.

“It’s the end of that fishing ground,” he said.

http://www.chronicle.gi/headlines_details.php?id=30220

Ceuta