Five Belgian fishing vessels were subjected to unusually strict inspections by British authorities last week, causing serious financial setbacks. Flemish Fisheries Minister Hilde Crevits (CD&V) has

denounced the actions as “unprecedented and assertive.”

The coordinated operations occurred on Tuesday and Friday in the Bristol Channel. British officers boarded the vessels at sea, sealed their holds, detained the captains, and ordered them to dock at a British port. Once ashore, authorities confiscated the ships' hard drives — though no explanation was provided.

“In fifteen years at sea, I’ve never seen anything like this”

“The crew are still shaken,” said a fisherman from Zeebrugge. Captain Clancy Snauwaert, whose vessel Z-26 was boarded 37 miles off the British coast, recalled: “We were forced to sail to Newlyn — an eight-hour trip. Our hard drive was taken, which meant we couldn’t legally resume fishing. We had to return to Zeebrugge. The loss? At least €40,000.”

Disproportionate and Lacking Transparency

While inspections are not uncommon, fishermen say the latest actions were excessive and opaque. So far, no formal explanation has been given, and crews are still in the dark about any alleged violations.

Minister Crevits: “This is outrageous”

Minister Crevits, who visited the affected crews in Zeebrugge on Monday, criticized the approach taken by British authorities: “It’s not the inspections themselves, but how they were carried out that’s outrageous. The crews still don’t know what they are being accused of.”

Crevits said she would raise the issue with both UK officials and the European Commission, emphasizing the vulnerability of Belgium’s small fishing fleet. She did not speculate on the motive behind the increased enforcement but noted that it comes amid ongoing EU-UK negotiations over fishing quotas. Photo by Arpingstone at English Wikipedia.