The captain of the British trawler impounded by the French in Le Havre during a furious post-Brexit fishing row is a veteran scallop fisherman from north-west Ireland, MailOnline can reveal.
Jondy Ward, from Burtonport, County Donegal, was arrested along with his seven crew in the sea off the Normandy coast last week by the French Maritime Gendarmerie.
He is accused of illegally fishing in French territorial waters for the valuable shellfish without a licence and faces a trial in August next year.
However today the boss of his firm, MacDuff fisheries, Andrew Brown told how he was preparing to pay a £125,000 ransom to free the boat Cornelius Gert Jan and its crew within the next 48 hours.
Captain Ward is expected to appear in court in Rouen tomorrow to learn his fate.
The captain of the British trawler impounded by the French in Le Havre during a furious post-Brexit fishing row is a veteran scallop fisherman from north-west Ireland, MailOnline can reveal. Jondy Ward (pictured left and right), from Burtonport, County Donegal, was arrested along with his seven crew in the sea off the Normandy coast last week by the French Maritime Gendarmerie
Ward (pictured) is accused of illegally fishing in French territorial waters for the valuable shellfish without a licence and faces a trial in August next year
Today the boss of his firm, MacDuff fisheries, Andrew Brown told how he was preparing to pay a £125,000 ransom to free the boat Cornelius Gert Jan (pictured) and its crew within the next 48 hours
Meanwhile details of Jondy Ward's experience as a commercial fisherman have emerged from his native Donegal, north-west Ireland.
He gained his captain's licence at the acclaimed Seamanship Centre in Killybegs before taking control of a number of commercial fishing vessels.
A scallop fisherman for the past ten years, Mr Ward has previously been caught up in disputes with the French authorities.
In 2014 he revealed how he had been attacked by a stone-throwing mob of militant French trawler men who tried to stop him and his crew operating in French territorial waters.
He claimed the French authorities pretended there had been a outbreak of toxins that rendered the shellfish poisonous to stop the British fishermen harvesting their catch.
Recalling the so called 'Scallops Wars' in a social media discussions, he wrote: 'The French don't want us fishing there.
'They [French fishermen] used toxins as an excuse in 2012 to stop us fishing there.
Mr Ward, who is believed to be in his late 30's has declined to comment about his arrest and detention of his boat Cornelius Gert Jan (pictured) by the French maritime Gendarmerie last week
The boat was detained by gendarmes last Wednesday, and escorted to the quayside at Le Havre, where they have remained ever since. Pictured: Crew onboard the Cornelis Gert Jan
'What we done [sic] was get the scallops tested. Results were NO toxins found.
'Every boat moved in and filled out boots. The French took to throwing stones then!'
In 2016 he was at the helm of the ISLA-S fishing boat that caught a record-breaking Monkfish that weighed a massive 77lb [35 kg] and was dubbed the 'Don' of the fishy underworld.
Mr Ward, who is believed to be in his late 30's has declined to comment about his arrest and detention of his boat Cornelius Gert Jan by the French maritime Gendarmerie last week.
However the hard-working captain has ensured his seven-man crew remain provisioned and are in good health while they languish on the dockside in the port of Le Havre, France, under effective house-arrest.
Mr Brown (pictured), director of Scottish firm MacDuff Shellfish, said he hoped to secure the release of the Cornelis Gert Jan following a court hearing tomorrow and bring the crew home within 48 hours
Mr Ward married childhood sweet-heart Eleanor Laffan in October 2011 and the couple now have a son and a daughter. They also have a pet dog.
It comes as Mr Brown, director of Scottish firm MacDuff Shellfish, said he hoped to secure the release of the Cornelis Gert Jan following a court hearing tomorrow and bring the crew home within 48 hours.
A French magistrate will hear legal argument from both sides of the bitter fishing dispute at a court in Rouen tomorrow, just yards from the quayside where the British trawler has been impounded.
The development comes after Emmanuel Macron warned Boris Johnson that France will retaliate unless Britain backs down in the fishing row.
On Monday, a spokesman for the Seine-Maritime prefecture confirmed that the Cornelis would remain in the Normandy port of Le Havre unless her crew paid 'a 150,000 euros deposit' – the equivalent of more than £125,000.
It far outweighs anything the boat might have earned during what started off as a five-day trip to France to fish for scallops.
Mr Brown said: 'Our priority is to get the crew released and bring them home. We expect there to be a court hearing tomorrow or on Wednesday at the latest.
'We consider there are three possible outcomes from this court hearing:
'1. That the charges are dropped and the case is dismissed and the boat and crew are free to go.
' 2. That the court demands that a bond is paid to enable the boat and crew to be released ahead of a trial probably next year.
'3. That the court refuses to release the boat or the crew.
'We do not expect the third scenario. We expect either the first or the second scenario.
'If the court imposes a bond then we will discuss the size of the bond. And depending on the size of the bond, it may take a couple of days to raise the money and for the boat to be released.
'But I maintain our priority is to secure the release of the crew and to ensure their welfare.'
Details of the sum come after Emmanuel Macron warned Boris Johnson that France will retaliate unless Britain backs down in the fishing row
Mr Brown declined to discuss whether or not the British scallop trawler had the correct licence to fish in French waters.
He explained: 'These matters are part of ongoing court proceedings so I cannot discuss this. This will be argued in court by lawyers.'
Mr Brown confirmed the crew comprised of four British and Irish men and four sailors from Africa and Asia.
It comes as the French pledge to step up similar measures from this Tuesday, in retaliation for Britain not providing enough licences for their boats to fish in UK waters following Brexit.
The boat was detained by gendarmes last Wednesday, and escorted to the quayside at Le Havre, where they have remained ever since.
Their skipper, who has not been formally named, has been charged with 'acts of unauthorised sea fishing in French maritime salt waters by a third-party vessel to the European Union'.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the growing diplomatic row at the G20 in Rome at the weekend.
Mr Johnson said he had been 'puzzled' to read a letter from Paris to the EU apparently asking 'for Britain to be punished for leaving the EU'.
Referring directly to Brexit, the Prime Minister said: 'I don't believe that is compatible either with the spirit or the letter of the Withdrawal Agreement of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and that's probably all I'll say about that.'
In turn, Mr Macron said: 'I don't want escalation. We need to be serious. I don't want to have to use retaliation measures because that wouldn't help our fishermen.'
Mr Brown, director of MacDuff Shellfish, which own the Cornelis, said she was being used as a 'pawn' by the French, and that she had not acted illegally.
Mr Brown said last week: 'We are looking to the UK government to defend the rights of the UK fishing fleet and ensure that the fishing rights provided under the Brexit fishing agreement are fully respected by the EU.'
On Monday morning, the Cornelis was still moored in Le Havre, with her crew of eight on board.
The boat had headed out from Shoreham, Sussex, early last Tuesday morning.
Her seizure is the latest move by France in an ongoing row with the UK over who has rights to fishing grounds in the Channel now Britain has left the EU.
Clement Beaune, France's
