The life of a lobster catcher is tough at this time of year. But boat owners working off the Devon coast are complaining that they are now having to contend not only with choppy water and chilly winds but also German naval vessels.
Fishermen are claiming that German ships which have been taking part in naval exercises off Plymouth are causing thousands of pounds of damage to their gear. They are now demanding compensation for the alleged incidents.
The Royal Navy is investigating whether vessels involved in its Flag Officer Sea Training (Fost) exercises are to blame. So far the navy has said that it has found no evidence that German boats, which are also taking part in the exercises, are responsible.
Brian Tapper, who has a crabber called Elsie Leigh, said his group had lost £8,000 of equipment. “It’s horrendous at the moment,” he said. Tapper suggested that the German ships were causing damage without realising what was happening. “They’re huge ships travelling at a rate of knots and they’re snagging and snapping our lobster pot ropes without even knowing it,” he said. The ships were so big they probably did not even know they were causing problems, he said.
Tapper added: “I’ve been a fisherman all my life and this type of thing has happened before but this is really extreme. It’s being going on for weeks. I’ve complained about it before but nothing ever gets done. We can’t go anywhere else, these are the fishing grounds for us. We accept the navy has to be there but they should avoid our grounds. It can be difficult enough making money without this.”
Another fisherman, Seb McDonald, said: “We have been losing a lot of gear due to the warships being around. We are losing pots as well as time and money. It’s been a bit of a nightmare.”
A Fost spokesman said: “We had meetings with the fishing community this summer and after those meetings we highlighted an area they would like our ships under training to keep clear of because of their fishing activity. We publish this to all ships undergoing training and to all our training staff. We are currently investigating the allegations, but at this time we have found no evidence to say that the ships encroached into the area we were advised to stay clear of. We are still waiting completion of our investigations.”
The spokesman added: “We talk to the complainant and if it is confirmed as our fault we recompense the individual. We have to make sure we are certain that an incident has happened. But we are very keen to make sure that if something has gone wrong we set things right.”
The German navy confirmed its vessels were operating in the area and were part of the exercises led by the Royal Navy.
It is not the first international incident involving Devon fishermen in recent weeks. Last month the crew of a Brixham scallop boat reported that they had been “attacked” by French rivals in the Channel.
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