A British fishing skipper has spoken out for the first time about the French seizure of his vessel, accusing maritime authorities of threatening his livelihood.
Phil Parker said French officials impounded his boat, the Lady T, for six days and seized 200 whelk pots, costing him £6,000 in lost fishing income.
The Eastbourne-based vessel was intercepted on May 22 for "non-authorised fishing in French waters".
Parker was forced to pay a €30,000 (£25,200) bond to secure its release.
Phil Parker has spoken out for the first time about the French seizure of his vessel, accusing maritime authorities of threatening his livelihood
GB News
He now faces an additional €45,000 (£38,000) fine if found guilty by a French court of fishing in EU waters without proper authorisation.
"I'm going to fight this," Parker told The Telegraph, vowing to challenge the case.
Parker revealed he had made an administrative error, failing to realise his boat's licence for those waters had not been renewed when he set sail.
The skipper said he was stopped just 288 metres inside the 30-mile EU waters boundary, in the middle of the English Channel.
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French officials suggested the seizure was retaliation
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He explained: "30 miles from the English coast and 28.9 miles from the French coast."
"For some reason, the boat's licence to be in those waters had not been reissued, as it is automatically every year, so they said I was fishing illegally."
Parker said: "I could understand it if I had been inside their 12-mile French waters limit, but it was in the middle of the English Channel. All I needed to be there legally was a bit of paper I thought we had."
The seizure occurred days after Sir Keir Starmer granted EU fishermen access to British waters for another 12 years, a deal criticised by industry leaders.
Migrants have been using the channel to cross from France into Britain
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Parker spent six days with his impounded vessel in Boulogne, staying aboard without toilet or shower facilities to ensure its safety.
He said: "I couldn't just leave the boat."
Despite the prosecution hanging over him, Parker continues fishing with the now-issued external waters licence.
He must replace the 200 seized whelk pots from his fleet of 800.
The seizure came just days after Britain handed fishing rights to Europe
GB NEWSFrench officials suggested the seizure was retaliation.
Olivier Lepretre, chairman of the regional fishing committee in northern France, referenced a £40,000 fine imposed on a French vessel in April.
Lepretre said: "There comes a moment when you have to say: stop."
Another French official claimed the Lady T was "looking for it" after entering exclusive French waters.
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