Thousands stranded by the blockade of ports by fishermen fre

 

Thursday, Apr 16,2009, 3:20:26 PM   Click:

Thousands of truckers and tourists were left stranded on both sides of the Channel today, after the french trawlermen high and quotas of cod blocked the main ports on the northern coast of France for a second day.

The fishermen began their blockade of Calais, Boulogne and Dunkirk yesterday afternoon and P & O Ferries said it had 5,000 people in distress at its Calais terminal when the fishermen at home for the night 9pm.

The company has managed to eliminate the backlog by the first few hours, but the spokesman for P & O, Brian Rees, said the trawlers return to 6 hours, until the holding of tourists returning from their Easter break and truckers on both sides of the Channel.

"There are thousands and thousands caught up in it," says Rees. "On a normal day we are in 4000 by truckers on the road. The number of very large very quickly. "

Fishermen protest against the EU imposes quotas for cod and sole, which they say are paltry. The 20 boats at Dunkirk, for example, are allowed to catch 133 tonnes of cod per year, which would normally only three boats loaded for the year, and fishermen routinely throw dead fish in the sea to remain within the law.

"Some vessels had only one tonne of cod for the year," said Bruno Dachicourt, who heads the union of fishermen. "This could be used in a single trip."

Among those held in Calais are Margaret and Peter Castle, a British couple aged 60 on the way back from a leave of Easter in France. They spent the night in their caravan in Calais with other stranded travelers from France, Belgium and Poland.

"It is not too bad for us - we have food and water," said Castle. "But the night was very difficult for people with children. Water flowing through distributors, and port authorities have not even hand no blankets. "

The french government said today that he could not accept the request of fishermen for higher quotas, even if Michel Barnier, Minister of Agriculture, said he might be able to offer a additional financial assistance in a meeting with industry representatives.

A Government spokesman stressed that France had obtained 30 per cent increase in quotas for cod in the Channel during the last round. "We must manage resources over time to protect our country, the fishing industry," he said.

In Kent, police have implemented Operation Stack, the lining of trucks on the shoulder of the M20 motorway from London to Dover, as they did during the recent blockade of french port and the action against carriers and British holidaymakers.

Richard Ashworth, Conservative MP southern England, urged the fishermen to call for the protest.

"People across the south of England is thinking," Here we go again. " Whenever the blockade of a port french, it makes our lives miserable in England in the South - which is why the French, "he said." It is not just for fishermen to take their french frustrations of the burden of proof and the M20 turn in a fleet of trucks. "

This view is shared by P & O, who has worked with the french and British governments to resolve the dispute and to maintain traffic. "It is difficult to understand their mentality," said Rees. "They made their point now - much more attention how do they need?"