GUERNSEY and Jersey fishermen will be given an equal number of licences to fish in each other’s waters. And Jersey’s will need licences for Bailiwick of Guernsey waters under a new agreement being negotiated by the islands’ authorities, said Commerce and Employment minister Stuart Falla yesterday.

His assurance follows concerns that local fishermen had not been properly consulted on the outcome of negotiations that have resulted in the signing of an accord between the islands. Its aim is to protect the interests of each island’s industries and allows controlled reciprocal access.

‘In any negotiation, you don’t win every point,’ said Deputy Falla.

‘Guernsey fishermen have been excluded from having Jersey licences to fish in Jersey waters but, within this agreement, that will be resolved as to their access within Jersey waters.

‘We are moving towards an agreement between both fishing fleets for neutral access to both waters, but that agreement is not yet signed. The accord is the basic framework.’

A basic vanguard agreement resulted from a meeting at which the Guernsey fishermen did have a representative and the Guernsey Fishermen’s Association was kept informed, he said.

Three full days were spent at a meeting with four Jersey and three Guernsey representatives.

‘We negotiated our way through this historical tangle that we found ourselves in,’ said Deputy Falla.

‘There will be some fishermen I’m sure who will say any agreement with Jersey has and will have no effect on me and other fishermen will say this ain’t no good.

‘But it will be impossible to find an agreement that is acceptable to Defra [Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs] that would exclude all Jersey boats from our waters and I have not heard any fishermen saying that is what we are doing.

‘There will be an equal number of fishermen that can gain licences in Guernsey and Jersey.

‘I understand that Jersey waters currently are not attractive to many Guernsey fishermen and yet Guernsey waters are quite attractive to Jersey fishermen. It has not always been like that and there is no guarantee it won’t change in future.’

An appeal hearing on Guernsey’s fishing licensing scheme, which had been deferred until December, has not been dropped, said Deputy Falla.

Earlier this year, the States was deemed to have acted unlawfully in approving new fishing legislation in 2003.

In the Royal Court, the Jersey Fishermen’s Association and UK companies successfully challenged laws that barred them from commercial fishing within Guernsey’s three- to 12-mile limit without a licence.

The ruling decided that the States had exceeded its powers when passing the legislation, which came into force on 1 October 2003.

The intention to create a licensing fleet for Guernsey Bailiwick waters remains in place. Guernsey fishermen as well as some UK and Jersey boats have been with issued licences to fish in that water and Commerce expects them to be upheld.

The Channel Islands is obliged by Defra to have a Channel Islands sea fisheries management agreement and that is now being negotiated by the inter-island authorities.

Representatives from both islands are due to meet again next week.

Some States members are concerned that the accord has been signed.

‘I think it’s a win-win situation for Jersey and a sell-out of all the work the former Sea Fisheries Committee did to conserve stocks,’ said Deputy Francis Quin this week.