Two Royal Navy vessels are patrolling waters around Jersey amid concerns of a possible blockade by French boats over post-Brexit fishing rights.
French fishermen say their rights to fish are being unfairly restricted under a new system introduced since the UK has left the EU. Photo: AFP
France has threatened to cut off electricity to the island, which began issuing licences to French boats under a new system last week.
Fishermen who claim their rights are being unfairly restricted are protesting at Jersey's St Helier port.
No 10 said it was sending two Navy vessels to "monitor the situation".
HMS Severn, which has previously been used to shadow Russian navy warships off the English coast, and HMS Tamar arrived near Jersey on Thursday morning.
The ships are routinely used for fisheries protection - with sailors able to board other boats for spot checks.
About 80 French boats are at the entrance to the island's main port of St Helier, but they pulled away earlier to allow a freight vessel to leave.
HMS Severn can be seen from the port, sitting off about 2km from the French boats and is maintaining a presence and not making any effort to intervene.
MEP Stephanie Yon-Courtin, a member of the EU fisheries committee, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme they were "taken by surprise" by new fishing rules, adding: "We are counting on the good faith from Jersey and the UK government to help and deescalate the tension."
Of the threats to cut off electricity to Jersey, she said "these are only words; we are not ready for war", but she added "all retaliatory measures will be explored".
Dozens of boats joined the protest flotilla that began in Normandy. Photo: AFP
New rules 'null and void' - EU
The new fishing rules - introduced by the Jersey government under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) - require French boats to show they have a history of fishing in Jersey's waters.
But French authorities said "new technical measures" for fishing off the Channel Islands had not been communicated to the EU, rendering them "null and void".
On Wednesday night, Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged his "unwavering support" for Jersey, the largest Channel Island and a Crown dependency, located 22km off France.
He added that "any blockade" by French boats would be "completely unjustified".
Johnson held talks with Jersey's Chief Minister John Le Fondré and Minister of External Affairs Ian Gorst, and "stressed the urgent need for a de-escalation in tensions" between Jersey and France.
Senator Gorst told the BBC the French threats were "disproportionate" but he was expecting a "peaceful demonstration" by fishermen.
He said Jersey took "a threat to blockade our harbour very seriously" but insisted the "resolution has to be through diplomacy".
Dimitri Rogoff, head of fisheries for the Normandy region, said the boats would not try to block St Helier and would return to France in the afternoon, AFP reported.
At the scene
Their boats were draped with makeshift banners - which read "en colère"- we are angry, writes BBC Europe correspondent Jean Mackenzie, who was with the fishermen as they set off from the French coast.
A handful left a small port on the Normandy coast about 2.30am (local time), to be joined by dozens more on the way to Jersey. The fishermen seemed more shocked than angry, that their access to waters they have fished in for decades is being challenged.
French fishermen have been fishing off the coast of Jersey for decades. Photo: AFP
Under the post-Brexit trade deal, Jersey has to allow European vessels into its waters, but they now need licences - but the fishermen say the permits have come with a long list of restrictions that were never agreed.
Reacting to the French Maritime minister's threat to cut off Jersey's electricity in retaliation, the fishermen were pleased.
"It's good to know our country is on our side," they said.
- BBC