Britain and France have agreed on the principles of a deal that would end the scallop wars in the English Channel.
Scots fishermen's group chief Mike Park said it was lucky nobody was killed as a violent row erupted between French and British fishermen over scallops at the end of last month.
It was alleged French fisherman threw smoke bombs, rocks and other projectiles at Scots and English boats on Monday, with holes reported to have been left in some vessels.
A video published by French media purports to show a Scottish scallop dredger colliding with French vessels.
Now after lengthy discussions, during which the French were said to have expressed “regret” for recent skirmishes, both sides reached an agreement on the principles of a deal.
No UK vessels will fish for scallops in the Bay of Seine during the period when the French are not allowed to catch.
Instead, smaller British boats will be compensated for their losses - but the sum is to be debated in Paris on tomorrow - and if both sides do not agree, the accord could be sunk.
A joint statement from the two governments said talks in London on Wednesday had been "constructive".
But a finalised deal hinges on a "reasonable compensation package" for smaller British boats, which lose out.
Jim Portus, the chief executive of the South Western Fish Producers Organisation, said: “I’m very pleased that we’ve negotiated a deal which satisfies the honour of fishermen on both sides.
READ MORE: 'Lives at risk' warning as Scots fishermen get caught up in scallops war with French
“The French are in a hurry to make sure that it happens because what they don’t want either is for there to be another conflict.
“Quite frankly if it’s not good enough on Friday, it will be rejected.”
Asked if the French apologised, Mr Portus was tight-lipped. Instead he said: “I’m pleased to say regret was voiced before we started our negotiations.”
Around 40 French boats are said to have confronted around a dozen British vessels in the waters of Baie de Seine, off the Normandy coast in the most high profile of the confrontations at the end of August. The French said their British counterparts were depleting scallop stocks in the area.
The European Commission then urged France and Britain to find an "amicable" solution.
Mike Park, chief executive of the Scottish White Fish Producers Association said the actions of French fishing boats had been comparable to "high-seas piracy designed to cause destruction" and said the French had agreed to a request for talks.
"At sea there is always the threat that the smallest incident can lead to loss of life and it's extremely fortunate that no one lost their lives or was seriously hurt," he said.
National regulations allow British ships to fish legally in the area all year round, but French fishermen are banned from taking scallops in the Baie de Seine between May 15 and October 1 to conserve stocks.
A previous industry accord prevented UK vessels larger than 15 metres doing so too, but smaller ones could help themselves.
The agreement-in-process will prevent the smaller British ships taking advantage of that window, but a UK industry representative involved in the talks said they will only be finalised if British fisherman do not lose a penny.
All British boats have been asked to voluntarily stop taking scallops from the conflict zone until the deal is finalised.
Securing a new agreement to end the scallop wars in the Channel would be “the right outcome”, Fisheries Minister George Eustice said.
Talks between British and French officials and industry representatives were held in London after clashes between fishermen harvesting the shellfish off the coast of northern France.
About 35 French boats confronted five British craft off the coast of Normandy last week, with UK crews reporting that rocks, smoke bombs and other projectiles were hurled at them during the confrontation.
The clashes have occurred in a scallop-rich area known as the Baie de Seine off the coast of Normandy.
National regulations allow British ships to fish legally in the area all year round, but French fishermen are banned from taking the molluscs between May 15 and October 1 to conserve stocks.
The clashes came after the breakdown of a 2013 agreement in which larger British vessels agreed not to fish in parts of the area, so they would be abiding by same conditions as the French fleet.
In return they gained more fishing opportunities.
It broke down this year after the French industry said they wanted the deal to be extended to smaller British boats.
“We all recognise the solution really is if we can get the voluntary agreement similar to the one that has stood the test of time over the previous five years, something similar to that back in place,” Mr Eustice said.
“We have officials from the French government, our own officials, both sides of the industry coming together to discuss this again, to see if they can get to back up an agreement similar to that which has pertained for the previous five years.
“This is the right outcome on this, if they can get a solution along those lines.
“ He also said he had received assurances from his opposite number Stephane Travert that additional resources had been put in place to the area – which is France’s exclusive economic zone in the seas - to ensure there were no further problems.
“He was clear they are putting additional gendarmerie and resources to have the capacity there to deal with any further outbreaks,” he told a hearing of the parliamentary Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee.
But Mr Eustice said he was not aware of any prosecutions.
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