Britain is building up a fleet of more than 40 ships and two surveillance aircraft to keep EU fishing vessels out of its waters after Brexit, ministers have admitted.

It follows the “scallop war” of September 2018 when French vessels rammed British trawlers off the French coast and recent comments from Didier Guillaume, France’s fishing minister, who said that French boats would ignore any post-Brexit restrictions.

French fishermen have also threatened to blockade Channel ports if they are expelled from UK waters.

At least eight of the UK ships will be armed naval vessels, part of the fishery protection squadron operated by the Royal Navy, which has been told to triple the number of days it spends patrolling fishing grounds.

© Times Newspapers Limited 2019.

Theme(s): Post Harvest Technology and Trade.

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