French and British fishermen square off with rocks, fireworks in battle for scallops

French maritime authorities are appealing for calm after fishermen from rival French and British fleets banged their boats in ill-tempered skirmishes over access to the scallop-rich waters off France's northern coast.

Maritime official Ingrid Parrot described a confrontation between 35 French and five British boats in international waters on Tuesday morning as "very dangerous," although there were no injuries.

She said French maritime authorities "really hope things will calm down."

Parrot said there are problems every year between French and British fishermen over access to lucrative scallops, but it's usually without the violence that was captured by a French TV crew.

Their video showed boats banging hulls and at least one firework rocket being launched.

A British trade group, the South Western Fish Producers Organization, accused French fishermen of putting lives at risk.

We won a battle but we haven't won the war.- Anthony Quesnel, French fishing vessel captain

"The French might look like heroes to the French coastal communities, but it's really awful to put other mariners in danger," said chief executiveJim Portus.

He said a window was smashed on one British boat and another suffered fire damage from a flare.

French law prevents French boats from fishing for scallops during the summer months before Oct. 1to help preserve the stocks, Parrot said.

But British ships can still fish for the prized delicacies in international waters off the French coast. That makes French crews "feel that the resources are being pillaged, when they are preserving them," Parrot said.

'Resources are being pillaged'

In previous years, the two sides struck deals to limit the scope of British scallop fishing off French waters, but haven't managed to do so this year, she said. More talks are expected in mid-September.

"If we let them do what they want, they'll ravage the area," said Anthony Quesnel, captain of La Rose des Vents,one of the French boats that took part in the effort to shoo away the British vessels on Tuesday.

The video showed smaller French craft huddled around bigger British vessels and several collisions before the British eventually retreated.

"In the end, it's worth it, because they left," Quesnel said. "We won a battle but we haven't won the war."

An EU spokesperson, Daniel Rosario, called for a negotiated solution.

"The scallop fishery is regulated at the national level, and over the past years, common management measures have been agreed between France, the U.K.and Ireland," he said. "So it is in the interest, first and foremost, of the fishermen that this agreement is in place, and we invite the national authorities to resolve any dispute in an amicable way as has been done in the past."