MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

French fishermen block Channel ports to protests EU quotas

French fishing boats have mounted a blockade of three Channel ports, interrupting ferry and freight traffic in a dispute over fishing quotas. At Calais, Boulogne and Dunkirk fishing fleets are preventing ships entering or leaving the harbour.

Stranded passengers say they have been given no indication of when the blockade might be lifted. British police have warned of serious delays and have started parking trucks on the M20 motorway.

At the port of Calais, one British traveller said the fishermen appeared occasionally to be letting a ship in and out of the port, but in a “very sporadic” fashion.

Richard Barclay, returning from an Easter break in Belgium with his family, said some passengers had showed signs of frustration towards the port authorities, but “most people are just resigned to wait”.

“The main problem is there is nothing to do, and only one facility, with an hour's wait to buy a sandwich,” he told BBC News.

French fishing unions say they are protesting at ever tougher EU-imposed quotas, and are demanding that the French government take a stand on their behalf or offer more financial assistance. They have not said how long their protest will last.

The EU says limiting the size of fishing catches is the best way to stop stocks being wiped out through over-fishing.-