when the fishing affair takes a courtly turn

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On November 29 and December 13, 2022, a Saint-Malo boat was checked with 1.3 tonnes of scallops fished in Jersey waters. Neither the shipowner nor the captain of the ship disputed the facts before the court of Saint-Malo (Ille-et-Vilaine), Tuesday November 26, 2024.

About twenty sailors

The shipowner, who employs around twenty sailors, believes that he was within his rights since he had a fishing license from Jersey. The captain, a thirty-year-old who then had little experience, assures that he did not have to question his boss's instructions.

The 61-year-old shipowner claims to have nothing to hide: “I went to the inspection on November 29 and the administration recognized that the texts on fishing in Jersey were vague. »

“We thought we would be allowed to do so”

In summary, fishermen must hold a so-called 'Ouest Cotentin' license, in addition to the Jersey authorization, to go shell dredging in this area. In full negotiation with the British during their exit from the European Union, France issued a ministerial decree setting new provisional rules in February 2021 and re-clarified the question in another decree in November 2022.

“We did not agree to have this West Cotentin license imposed on us since Jersey was no longer part of the European Union. On the other hand, we noticed that many boats with only a Jersey license also went to this area. We therefore thought we would be authorized to do so,” justifies the owner of the Saint-Malo shipping company who is also accused of having carried out these fishing activities at unauthorized times.

An army of witnesses

The matter is complex from a regulatory perspective. In any case, it will become so throughout the hearing when different witnesses appear one after the other before the judge, Annabelle Buron. A gendarme fishing controller at Maritime Affairs takes out a map to explain the zones demarcated between Normans, Bretons and Jersiais. It traces the history of the successive decrees.

Next comes a department head from the DDTM of Ille-et-Vilaine who carried out the “cross-check” with her counterpart from Côtes d’Armor. According to her, there is no doubt that the shipowner, as an elected representative of the departmental fisheries committee, was informed, by the Administration, during several quarterly meetings, of the need to hold a Ouest Cotentin license.

The vagueness of ministerial decrees?

The vagueness of ministerial decrees? » The Norman prefectural decree of November 2022 clearly states that this license is necessary to fish in Jersey waters. This 2^e order was perhaps produced to clarify the first,” concedes the official, when faced with questions from the amateur’s lawyer.

As for hours, “shell fishing is authorized from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. By disembarking at 10:50 a.m. in Saint-Malo, it is obvious that the rule was not respected.”

To continue to dissect the affair, which is taking a Courtesque turn, a representative of the DDTM 22 as well as a former crew member of the incriminated boat, who did not have much to say, testify in turn.

A display of the possible sanction

The deputy prosecutor admits that “this period of negotiations was special. But the boat had to follow regulations that the shipowner could not ignore.” As for the captain, he should have checked whether or not he was authorized to fish in Jersey waters. Adrien Nantel demands a €4,000 fine (including €2,000 suspended) with obligation to post for two months to the Mer Littoral and Local Fisheries Committees of Ille-et-Vilaine and Côtes-d'Armor directorates against the captain . And €10,000 fine and the same notice against the shipowner's Sarl, with suspension of the fishing license for one month.

The amateur's lawyer denounces the vagueness of the February 2021 decree which required a second one in November 2022 to make it more explicit. “Jersey did not prohibit fishing in its area. It was France that did not want to make waves during the Brexit negotiations. » She requests the release of her client who “has already been administratively sanctioned and lost a subsidy, i.e. €10,874, which corresponds to the price of three tonnes of shells”.

“We are idiots”

Cyril Baron, who defends the captain, also asks for his release. He rails against the “3h06 which has just monopolized this court. So France imposes more restrictive measures than those imposed on the same fishermen by the Jersey authorities?

The latter found nothing to complain about this Saint-Malo boat. We're stupid, we have a knack for shooting ourselves in the foot. Heavy administrative sanctions have already been imposed. I see that it takes a lot to keep the indictment afloat. We are told that the rules were complicated, but clear. Well no, a complicated rule cannot be clear. »

The Saint-Malo lawyer recalled French law: “For an offense committed in foreign territory to be judged in France, it must also be punishable in the jurisdiction of the State where it was committed. »

The court will deliver its decision on January 14, 2025.

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