October 14, 2012 — Proudly clutching the Union flag, the crew of the British scallop dredger Van Dijck stand firm in the face of the sabre-rattling French.
Militant French fishermen have threatened to mobilise a 250-strong armada against British boats legally fishing for scallops off the Normandy coast.
They have already attacked the Van Dijck and other British boats with rocks, iron bars and flares in what the crew have called ‘The French Revolution’.
But skipper Gary Smith, 47, says his crew refuse to be intimidated by their Gallic foes.
Speaking from the wheel cabin of his 100ft boat he said: ‘These boys are hardened seafarers and there is nothing more they would like than a punch-up with the French.
‘But I told them we must not retaliate whatever they might throw at us. That’s just what the French want. They are trying to goad us into fighting back and making us like the bad guys in this. We are not.
‘We have been fishing for scallops here for years and there is plenty to go round for all of us, they just want it all for themselves.
‘We have painted a Union Jack on the side of the boat to show we will not be intimidated.’
Read the full story at the Daily Mail