Brexit fishing row as Belgian trawlermen arrested in UK waters – ‘Treated like criminals’ | UK | News | EUROtoday

UK authorities held up 5 Belgian fishing vessels and arrested their crews after they have been fishing within the Bristol Channel. A Belgian official branded the therapy “disproportionate” after seamen claimed they weren’t allowed to go to the bathroom alone after being arrested and handled “like criminals”.

On Tuesday and Friday final week, the vessels have been stopped outdoors the 12-mile zone (the realm from the UK coast topic to UK regulation) by British authorities. The boats have been “suspected of incorrect logbook registration”, based on Leontien De Wulf, spokesperson for Flemish Minister for Sea Fisheries Hilde Crevits.

“The arrests were made without giving any reason,” De Wulf informed The Brussels Times. “Only at the end, after the hard disk was confiscated, were they told that they were suspected of incorrect logbook registration, but without specification of voyage or period.”

Du Wulf added: “There are agreements among EU countries about where they can fish for certain types of fish, such as sole or megrims. These countries perform regular checks on each other to see if these agreements are respected.”

The checks are understood to normally take not more than an hour, with a technician coming aboard boats separately to examine the its pc system.

According to The Brussels Times, the UK management service stopped 5 Belgian vessels on the identical time. The boats’ holds have been sealed, and the lads onboard have been positioned beneath arrest. The outlet stories that they have been compelled to sail to a British port some 93 miles away, round 9 hours. When they arrived on the new port, it was reported that the vessels’ onerous drives have been confiscated.

According to at least one fisherman, the lads have been handled “like criminals”, whereas one of many skippers claimed the arrests prompted financial losses of £34,000 due to gasoline consumption and manpower prices.

“This control and the arrests left a big impression on boaters and fishermen. There is anxiety in the sector”, he mentioned.

Since Brexit, the UK has allowed European fishermen to maintain fishing in its waters. However, the Brexit deal foresees a 25% decline in European fishing rights in UK waters by 2026.

Blaming Brexit for the fiasco, De Wulf mentioned that EU nations hardly ever discover themselves in fishing disputes like those they discover themselves in with the UK. “But since Brexit, the UK no longer belongs to those countries, and there is not really an agreed-upon procedure now. But even taking that into account, this was very far-reaching and disproportionate”, the spokesperson claimed.

A spokesperson for the UK’s Marine Management Organisation (MMO) informed The Brussels Times that it led “a multi-agency operation” within the Celtic Sea on 8 April 2025 in response to intelligence regarding “potential breaches of UK fisheries regulations.”

“A number of vessels were detained [and brought] to port to enable evidence-gathering before being released,” the MMO mentioned. “As this is a live investigation, we are unable to comment further at this time.”