French trawler owners still in dark over U.K.-French fishing

GRANVILLE, France (AP) — French trawler owners in Normandy have reacted with confusion and consternation after President Emmanuel Macron extended a Tuesday deadline by two days amid a post-Brexit fishing spat with Britain.

Macron said that the U.K. now has until Thursday to license more French vessels to fish in U.K. waters or face consequences. France has threatened to bar British boats from some of its ports and tighten checks on boats and trucks carrying British goods if no solution is found. Paris has also suggested it might restrict energy supplies to the Channel Islands, which are heavily dependent on French electricity.

“We don’t know what to expect. We learn new things every day,” said trawler owner Samuel Deshayes in Granville, in the northwestern region of Normandy. “We will not give up until everyone has obtained a license.”

He said he felt there was a level of dishonesty on the part of the British.

Many French fishermen are pointing fingers specifically at the Channel Islands, including Jersey and Guernsey, which are self-governing British crown dependencies that crucially have control over their own territorial waters. France has suggested that Jersey, which is only 14 miles (about 22 kilometers) off the coast of France, hasn't issued enough licenses to French vessels.

“Jersey — I don’t know why there are causing problems. Even the English don’t quite understand why Jersey is resisting,” Deshayes added.

The government of Jersey has reacted by issuing 49 temporary licenses to French boats. It said the vessels will be able to fish in Jersey waters until Jan. 31 to “grant time” for further data that is necessary for it to issue permanent licenses.

Emmanuel Lecoufle, owner of French trawler Arc en Ciel in Granville, said that issuing such few permits won’t...