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French fishermen leave Jersey after post-Brexit rights protest
A protest over post-Brexit rights by French fishermen at Jersey's main port has ended, following talks that aimed to resolve the row.
About 60 boats protested at St Helier port and two Royal Navy ships and two French vessels were sent to the area.
French fishermen say their rights are unfairly restricted by licences issued under the Channel Island's new system.
Jersey's External Relations Minister Ian Gorst said discussions were "positive". However, a spokesman for fishermen from France's Normandy region suggested that no progress had been made during the talks.
"We're getting deeper into deadlock," Hugo Lehuby told Reuters news agency. "Either this gets resolved, or retaliatory measures are taken."
No 10 said the PM has been in contact with Jersey officials over the row and confirmed that the two Royal Navy vessels would "remain in place to monitor the situation as a precautionary measure".
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HMS Severn, which has previously been used to shadow Russian navy warships off the English coast, can be seen from the port, sitting off about a mile from where the French boats were protesting. HMS Tamar is nearby and both ships are maintaining a presence and did not intervene in the protest.
Shortly after 13:30 BST the two French patrol vessels, police boat Athos and patroller Themis, appeared to be heading south, away from Jersey.
Earlier, the maritime prefecture of Manche and mer du Nord told the BBC the vessels were on a public service mission to ensure safety.
France has threatened to cut off electricity to Jersey, the largest Channel Island and a Crown dependency, located 14 miles (22km) off France. Crown dependencies are not part of the UK, but are defended and represented internationally by the UK government.
The boats were protesting against new fishing rules - introduced last week by the Jersey government under the UK-EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA) - which require French boats to show they have a history of fishing in Jersey's waters. But it has been claimed additional requirements were added without notice.
French authorities say "new technical measures" had not been communicated to the EU, rendering them "null and void".
"We agreed that all sides remain committed to engaging with our partners in the EU and France to resolve the concerns arising from the issuing of fishing licenses under the Trade and Co-operation Agreement, which led to today's protest," Jersey's Senator Gorst said.
Earlier, Jersey fisherman Loic Farnham said of his French counterparts: "They are professional fishermen, the same as we all are, we'd like to keep it all amicable so we can have access to the markets and they can carry on earning a living in our waters."
The maritime prefecture of Manche and mer du Nord told the BBC the two French vessels were not on military missions.
It said the boats' roles were to stay in French waters and to be near the fisherman in order to ensure safety.
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