Jersey has agreed a last-minute extension to post-Brexit transition arrangements allowing some French vessels to keep fishing in its waters.

The Channel island will extend the deal – which had been due to expire on 30 June under an interim agreement – for a further three months.

A dispute over fishing rights earlier this year had seen France and Britain send patrol vessels to the seas off Jersey, which is a self-governing crown dependency.

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Under Britain’s Brexit trade deal, French vessels are required to prove the “extent and nature” of past fishing activity for access to be granted.

But many French fishermen complained that their small boats lacked the electronic equipment enabling them to do so.

Jersey said 177 such vessels would be able to keep fishing off its shores while negotiations continued.

The dispute flared up last month as a fleet of about 50 French fishing boats descended on the island, threatening to blockade the port of St Helier to prevent goods from being delivered.

That had prompted British and then French military deployments.

Earlier, France had threatened to cut off power to the island – which receives 95% of its electricity from France through three undersea cables and is nearer to France than the UK.

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The extension of the Brexit transition arrangements announced on Monday means that, until the end of September, there will be a suspension on vessels having to state the number of days previously fished in Jersey waters and type of equipment used as conditions of access.

In a statement, Ian Gorst, Jersey’s minister for external relations, said: “We are offering this extension to the amnesty period to allow the continuation of discussions.”

France’s junior European minister, Clement Beaune tweeted: “We’re making progress!

“We will continue to defend our fishermen, their interests, the future of (French) fishing.”

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