French fishermen attack Scots

last updated 8 January 2015

Bay of Biscay

French crab fishermen hurled a barrage of rocks, shells, and tools at a Scottish scalloping boat this week in an assault that lasted five hours. Eight French crab boats surrounded the Scottish scalloper as it was fishing at dawn in international waters. The French shouted insults, which the Scottish crew could not understand, and then started pelting the boat with whatever they could grab. The Scots fled below deck until two French naval boats arrived to restore order. The crabbers later claimed that a “gentlemen’s agreement” gave them sole rights to fish those waters. But Tom Nicholson, owner of the Scottish vessel, had never heard of such a pact. “The French were seriously aggressive,” he told the London Daily Telegraph, “and their behavior was ludicrous.”