French fishermen claim they are not being issued with permits by British officials that would allow them to fish in British waters post-Brexit, leaving many facing financial ruin.

They claim that in order to carry on fishing where they have always done for decades, they need to get the permits from London but they are not being granted and their pleas to Westminster are falling on “deaf ears.”

Brexit supporters in the UK had also sharply criticised Prime Minister Boris Johnson on the Brexit agreement regarding fishing rights, struck at the end of 2020, as it would allow EU members to fish in British waters after obtaining a special permit.

But French anglers across the channel are none too pleased either as they now need special permits from the United Kingdom so that they may fish in their neighbour’s waters, but they claim that they are struggling to obtain them.

They say that the problem is a political one and is threatening their livelihoods.

The French claim that they catch almost no fish as they have had to stay close to France’s shores, where there is too much competition for too little fish.

Christophe Lomel, who has been a fisherman in France for 38 years, told RTL: “I have been going to sea for 38 years, and I have always been fishing in these waters, just like all of my colleagues from Boulogne.

“Unfortunately, the British are turning a deaf ear. We’ve been waiting since 1st January. Now, we are supposed to go there, but we can’t go there, it’s a cohabitation in the same zone, which makes it very complicated.”

Only 22 fishing vessels out of 120, in Hauts-de-France, the northernmost region of France, are currently allowed to fish in British waters, according to Bruno Margolle, the president of the French National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations.

He expects the French government to be more active with finding a solution in Brussels, where the negotiations between London and EU will take place, concerning this issue and other, related economic problems caused by Brexit.