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

Royal Navy hard-pressed to defend Gibraltar

The Royal Navy, stretched thin by budget cuts, ship decommissioning, delayed replacement vessels, and increased operational demands, would be hard-pressed to deploy significant assets to Gibraltar.

Navy ‘can’t do a lot’ about Gibraltar

Defence cuts mean the Royal Navy would struggle to send warships to Gibraltar amid tensions with Spain over the Rock, it was claimed today.

The warning comes amid a dispute with Madrid over Gibraltar’s sovereignty.

Relations between the British territory and Spain have deteriorated in recent months in a row over fishing grounds, with Spanish ministers raising the prospect of imposing a £43 levy on vehicles crossing the border and the possibility of closing airspace.

Mike Critchley, a former naval officer and book publisher from Gosport, told The News: ‘In times past the navy would have had a presence down there, but now the navy is tremendously reduced.

‘The navy can’t meet all its commitments.

‘Ships do go there, submarines go there, and there are some small patrol vessels.

‘But it is a difficult situation, we’re talking about two NATO countries, two EU countries, so obviously the government is just going to be watching what happens at the moment.

‘The navy can’t do a lot about it. This has been going on for a while Someone has got to bang heads together.’

The government has insisted there will be no compromise over the sovereignty of Gibraltar, and foreign secretary William Hague has vowed to stand shoulder to shoulder with its citizens in response to heightened pressure and increasingly belligerent rhetoric from Madrid.

Last night, Mr Hague reiterated the UK’s commitment to the people of Gibraltar after speaking to Gibraltar’s Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo.

He said: ‘I emphasised to Gibraltar’s elected Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, that the UK stands shoulder to shoulder with the people of Gibraltar at this time of increasing Spanish pressure and rhetoric.

‘I also highlighted that we will respect Gibraltar’s 2006 Constitution and the commitments the UK has repeatedly made not to compromise on British sovereignty over Gibraltar.

‘We discussed the need for a political solution to the current tension with Spain, which would be firmly in the interests of communities on both sides of Gibraltar’s border with Spain.

‘I call upon Spain to respect the agreements made at Cordoba and to avoid actions which could increase tension further.

‘We agreed that it was important to respond to actions, not rhetoric, and I confirmed that we would continue to raise our concerns with Spain.’

http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/defence/navy-can-t-do-a-lot-about-gibraltar-1-5358162

What price a guard ship?

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

Your starter for ten… When was the Gibraltar Guard Ship withdrawn?

Whenever Spanish vessels (either from the Armada Española, the Guardia Civil, or a piratical fisherman chancing his luck) intrudes upon British Gibraltar Territorial Waters, I am mindful of this last mention of the Gibraltar Guard Ship in the parliamentary record.

Gibraltar Guard Ship
HC Deb 15 April 2003 vol 404 cc52-3W

Mr. Jenkin To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which Royal Navy vessel last carried out the duty of Gibraltar Guard Ship; and which warship is on station carrying out those duties. [109158]

Mr. Ingram The Royal Navy presence in Gibraltar is provided by The Gibraltar Squadron. The Squadron usually comprises two patrol vessels. This is appropriate to the current assessment of requirements. Currently, on a temporary basis, there are four patrol craft in Gibraltar whilst the task is transferred to vessels reassigned from Northern Ireland. HMS Ranger and HMS Trumpeter are the outgoing patrol craft, HMS Scimitar and HMS Sabre are the incoming patrol craft. No frigate or destroyer is deployed as a Gibraltar Guard Ship.

Note the key element of this reply. “No frigate or destroyer is deployed as a Gibraltar Guard Ship.” Oh, how they must have rubbed their hands with glee in Madrid!

Is it any wonder why, 10-years later, illegal incursions in BGTW occur… and occur again… and again… and with seeming impunity?

A politely-worded diplomatic note from the FCO (“You are being naughty. Please stop. If you don’t stop then we will write you another letter.”) is barely worth the paper they it is written on. Occasional fluffing of feathers by Royal Marine RIBs occurs on those rare occasions (subject to predictable protest from Madrid) that a RN submarine occupies the Z Berth. This is patently insufficient.

As far back as 1798, Nelson wrote of his operations in the Mediterranean, “Was I to die this moment, ‘Want of Frigates’ would be found stamped on my heart.” How little appears to have changed! The Royal Navy is decommissioning frigates and destroyers faster than they can build replacements – even presupposing the political will exists in Whitehall to replace them on a like-for-like basis.

One thing is certain, and that is that displays of weakness only encourage the aggressor. Spain is encouraged by Britain’s perceived weakness. Madrid is encouraged by the weak-kneed response of Whitehall to illegal incursions. Diplomatic note follows diplomatic note. Yet this is insufficient to prevent the illegal incursions. Mild hurumphing from the FCO is not getting the job done. A guard ship might.

HMS Cornwall (F99) off Gibraltar in 2004. Cornwall was one of the Type 22 frigates decommissioned by the British government under the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review. “WANT OF FRIGATES!”