These are scallops.
You might recognise them more like this.
Either way, you probably didn't think they'd have anything to do with this.
La charge d'un navire anglais lors de l'affrontement entre pêcheurs français et britanniques ! https://t.co/jCfERoMtex https://t.co/WwdxJtbdn1
Wrong. Late Monday night, British and French boats had a major fallout over these tasty little molluscs.
Around 40 French boats gathered near the Bay of Seine, about 12 miles off the coast of Normandy, in a stand against British “pillaging” of the shellfish.
British fishermen, who were fishing on five boats in the area, said their French neighbours hurled rocks and smoke bombs at them, and claimed a French gendarmerie patrol vessel failed to intervene.
Derek Meredith, the owner of two boats damaged during the incident, told the Times that the crews were “petrified”.
“The French crews were throwing rocks, shackles, and flares onto the boats. They were throwing ropes in the sea to try and stop our boats escaping,” he said.
“One of the shackles smashed a galley window, which is serious because it means the boat isn’t watertight. There has been a bit of trouble over the past couple of years, but nothing as serious as this.”
Dimitri Rogoff, president of the regional committee of maritime fisheries in Normandy, denied that there had been any damage in an interview with AFP.
“The French went to contact the British to stop them working and they clashed with each other. Apparently there was stone-throwing, but no injuries or damage,” he said.
The French boats “almost surrounded” the British, he added, and forced them to flee.
So... How did we get here?
It was not the first time British boats say they've been attacked on their search for scallops. It happened back in 2012.
French fishermen "threw bricks" at UK scallop boat. Video: http://t.co/eED43W53
One crew member was slightly injured when French fishermen threw rocks at a British boat in October 2012, about 15 miles west of Le Havre.
The UK said at the time that it was working with the French authorities to make sure it didn't happen again.
The Scallop Fishing (England) Order 2012 applies to British boats within English waters of British fishery limits http://t.co/d0H96rFT
“We are continuing high-level negotiations with our French counterparts to seek assurances that these issues will not recur,” a spokesperson for the UK's Marine Management Organisation said.
But it did, three years later.
British trawler 'attacked by French fleet' in bitter 'scallop war' https://t.co/hFt5WJQ5QT
On Oct. 23, 2015, the Joanna C, one of the boats owned by Meredith that was involved in Monday's skirmish, was confronted with 20 French vessels launching bottles and stones.
“The French just took things into their own hands,” he said at the time.
So where does Brexit come in?
Monday's clash marked the end of a “summer truce”, Rogoff wrote on Facebook.
He said that the French have been trying to negotiate for fairer agreements for five years. Deals had been reached in the past, but that didn't happen this summer.
“Constrained by Brexit, blinded by a short-term jackpot, the UK has refused all progression,” he wrote.
“It's necessary to understand that 10 years ago we saw very little of the UK. Since then, they have considerably increased their efforts to fish scallops, profiting in an opportunistic way from good French management.”
He later wrote that the best solution would be a “joint management zone”, which he noted had been suggested by France at a European level.
“It is time to implement this French demand, even in this period of uncertainties linked to Brexit, as maybe one day we could see other boats eyeing up our scallops.”
Meanwhile, pro-Brexit group Fishing for Leave said the French shouldn't “expect favours” after Britain leaves.
If Britain didn't provide half the fish to EU pot but only get a 10% share back in the channel maybe we wouldn't need to chase scallops? French expect to pillage our waters with impunity but 5 UK boats get mauled by 40! Don't expect favours post Brexit! https://t.co/gjS4jSPyc7 https://t.co/pt1VKSG9Ux
“Given that Britain would automatically repatriate over half our fish and hold all the cards under international law the French should wind their neck in if they want to have any agreements that they will desperately need at all,” the group wrote in a blog post.
Et voila! Watch this space for further fish fights.
