War over international borders or territorial waters is not unheard of, but “Scallop Wars”? Yes! You heard it right! Apparently the French and British fishermen are fighting over scallops, rather who gets to fish how much of these delectable bivalve mollusks from the English Channel.

Most of the scallop fishing happens more than 12 mile limit where the international waters begin. However, the most fertile fishing grounds for scallops happen to be around Baie de Seine, a bay along northern France. The French fishermen have until now allowed the British to troll here, however their generosity seems to have ebbed.

The French government has for long imposed restrictions on scallop fishing until October every year to allow them the time and space to repopulate. This leaves the British fishermen with an unfair advantage as there are no restrictions on how much and when they fish. Huge ships from as far as Scotland fish for scallops everyday with sustainability being the last thing under consideration. The French fishermen are not against the British fishing, only that they want the British to abide by the scallop fishing regulation too. This is only fair as this would ensure that both can share equally and act environmentally responsible at the same time. The British fishermen have not until now paid any heed to these requests.

The French fishermen now want a fair deal and they are going all out to fight for their right. So much so that, there was a clash between the French and British boats in the English Chanel during the last week of August. Apparently smoke bombs and stones were thrown at each other’s boats.

The Common Fisheries Policy should govern boats from all the EU member states. It must regulate quotas and address many other issues that concern scallop fishers. However, with Britain’s impending exit from the EU, things only seem to be getting tenser around the situation. It is quite evident that a lot is at stake for the French as the issue has made its way to the French parliament. For the British part, they have a lot at stake too, considering a lot of jobs are at stake not to mention losses on accor of exports.

Latest update on the issue comes as a relief for both parties. Apparently a deal has been struck between the English and French fishermen that starts from 18th September 2018. The British boats have agreed to withdraw from the region for a better fishing deal in other places. The restriction applies only for large vessels and smaller boats can still continue to fish. UK scallop dredgers over 15m long will leave the scallop beds off the coast of Normandy 18th for the next six weeks. The French for their part have agreed  to transfer their fishing rights for scallops in areas such as the Irish Sea.