French fishing protest softens on English Channel

PARIS - French fishermen allowed sea traffic to resume at two English Channel ports but continued to block a third Thursday to push for higher European fishing quotas, regional officials said.

Cross-channel traffic to and from Calais and Dunkirk resumed overnight so that fishermen could meet and decide how to respond to a government offer of euro4 million ($5.27 million) in aid.

Trawlers were still blocking the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, according to the Nord-Pas de Calais regional port authority.

The fishermen blocked the three key ports Tuesday and Wednesday, stranding passengers and trucks on both sides of the Channel.

They are protesting EU fishing quotas for sole and cod, which they say are too low for them to make a living.

The European Commission said Wednesday it was sticking to its annual quotas, a key part of its fishing policy and an effort to protect and revive dwindling fish stocks. Member nations negotiate each country's share of the total catch.

Representatives for the protesters met for several hours in Paris with Agriculture Minister Michel Barnier on Wednesday night, and he pledged up to euro4 million in aid by June 30, help in getting bank loans for struggling fishing businesses and other measures.

Among them is a plan to trade quotas with other EU countries.

Not all the fishermen were satisfied with the offer. Jose Huleux, president of a Calais fishermen's association, said the fishermen would have to remain in port for days or weeks before the traded quotas come into effect.

The blockade of Calais, Dunkirk and Boulogne-sur-Mer was the latest display of frustration by workers in France, who have sequestered bosses, marched through Paris and gone on hunger strike in recent weeks and months to protest the economic downturn.

A service of the Associated Press(AP)