FRENCH fishermen blocking the ports of Dunkirk, Calais and Boulogne for a second day yesterday said they would continue until an EU regulation requiring them to use more loosely woven fishing nets is rescinded.
Up to 500 Irish trucks have been held up on either side of the English Channel by the dispute, according to the Irish Road Haulage Association, while the Irish Exporters' Association estimated goods worth more than £5 million a day are failing to get through because of the blockade.
The IRHA met the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, Mr Dukes, and other politicians yesterday to discuss the crisis. A spokesman said there was particular concern for exporters of fresh meat.
Some 120 fishing boats have blocked the ports since Tuesday afternoon, halting sea traffic on the Dover side of the Channel. Local authorities tried unsuccessfully to persuade them to remove their vessels, which are strung out in queues outside the ports.
Speaking by cell phone from his boat, fisherman Mr Christophe Grand told The Irish Times: "It's because of the net size. If we use the nets they want, we'll catch 75 per cent fewer fish and we can't make a living."
Asked if he cared that hundreds of trucks were being detained on the other side of the English Channel because of their action, Mr Grand said no, and that the trucks "are probably carrying foreign fish".
The blockade has been organised by the local fishermen not by a national union.
Speaking during Dail question time yesterday, Progressive Democrat TD Ms Mairin Quill urged the Government to impress on its French counterpart that the latest blockade was in breach of EU laws on freedom of movement. She accused France of taking an "overly passive role" in previous similar disputes.