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Name: David de Carteret A brief introduction,
I have been a commercial fisherman for over 24 years, working both inshore around the island and offshore out to and beyond Jersey's 12-mile territorial limit. Throughout my career I have worked alongside the far more powerful and often intimidating French fleet. The average size of the French boats working in Jersey waters is around 12 meters often with 4 or 5 crew, the average size of a Jersey boat is 8 meters, 90% of the Jersey boats are single handed operations.
I won't go into the failings of the previous Granville bay treaty as our own fisheries department have produced a very extensive document which outlines the complete failings and inequality of that treaty.
Regarding fisheries limits, why is Jersey the only place in the entire world that does not have exclusive rights to fisheries inside its own 3-mile limit, France has an exclusive 3 mile limit around the Roches douvres' why do we not have the same around Les Minquiers?
Zone A (Paternosters) and Zone B (Dirouilles) have been long established as 3-mile limits around said reefs and are in the process of becoming exclusive albeit while waiting for grandfather rights' of qualifying French boats to come to an end. It looks like we are about to lose this also!
When making trade deals it should be access for access and trade for trade, the current TECA deal is not in Jerseys best interest as it mixes access with trade and this I believe is wrong, this is proven in that currently Jersey has issued permits for French access and yet trade of fish is blocked by the French administration.
We hold all the cards, we have the fish that the French fleet want and make a tidy sum from and yet we get nothing but unworkable export arrangements in return.
Why did it cost me £65,000 to licence my 8 meter boat and yet the French are given access permits to my waters absolutely free of charge, their own permit issuing authority would charge them a handsome fee in the days of Granville bay treaty!
Another and often more anger provoking issue is that of the totally unlevel playing field we have to compete on, not only at sea but in the fact that we have to abide by all EU regulation regarding FMA's (fisheries management agreements) and all the associated levels of regulation. All this regulation cost money for which EU/UK boats are heavily subsidised for while we here receive absolutely nothing!
I have personal evidence of this as I once attended a trade show in the UK, the Seafish Authority where handing out free life jackets to anyone employed in the fishing industry paid for under EU funding for Safety improvements, imagine my dismay at being asked to hand my life jacket back as I did not qualify for one being a Jersey resident! All the while watching the French fleet decimate local stocks and putting local boats out of business!
I could go on.
Regards
David de Carteret