States of Guernsey

The States of Guernsey (French: États de Guernesey) is the parliament of the British Crown dependency of Guernsey. Some laws and ordinances approved by the States of Guernsey also apply to Alderney and Sark (the other component parts of the Bailiwick of Guernsey) as "Bailiwick-wide legislation" with the consent of the governments of those islands. All enactments of the States of Guernsey apply to Herm as well as Guernsey, since Herm is wholly owned by the States of Guernsey.

When constituted as a legislature, it is officially called the States of Deliberation. When constituted as an electoral college, it is officially called the States of Election.

Legislation passed by the States is termed Laws (Loi), which take effect in the island by Order-in-Council. Minor and secondary legislation does not require the assent of the Queen-in-Council and are known as Ordinances (Ordonnances).

States of Deliberation

The States of Deliberation consists of 45 People's Deputies, elected from multi-member districts every four years. There are also two non-voting members being the Law Officers of the Crown - the Procureur (Attorney General) and the Comptroller (Solicitor General) both appointed by the monarch. The Bailiff presides over the States. Two Deputies are appointed by the States of Alderney to represent Alderney's interest in matters delegated by Alderney to Guernsey under the 1948 Agreement. The Alderney Representatives are full members of the States of Deliberation but are unpaid, and are chosen from the 10 members of the States of Alderney after an Alderney-wide plebiscite.

Guernsey

The Jurisdiction of Guernsey is a possession of the Crown in right of Guernsey in the English Channel, off the coast of Normandy. The jurisdiction embraces not only all ten parishes on the island of Guernsey, but also the much smaller inhabited islands of Herm, Jethou and Lihou together with many small islets and rocks. The jurisdiction is not part of the United Kingdom, however defence and most foreign relations are handled by the British Government.

The whole jurisdiction lies within the Common Travel Area of the British Isles and is not a member of the European Union, but has a special relationship with it, being treated as part of the European Community for the purposes of free trade in goods. Taken together with the separate jurisdictions of Alderney and Sark it forms the Bailiwick of Guernsey. The two Bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey together form the geographical grouping known as the Channel Islands.

History

Etymology

The name "Guernsey", as well as that of neighbouring "Jersey", is of Old Norse origin. The second element of each word, "-ey", is the Old Norse for "island", while the original root, Guern(s), is of uncertain origin and meaning.

Fishing in Guernsey

Fishing within the Bailiwick of Guernsey is common place. The Bailiwick is made up of several islands in the Channel Islands, namely (Herm, Sark, Alderney and Guernsey).

Fishing in Guernsey offers a large range of species available to catch which will involve many different styles of fishing to adopt and learn to become successful.

Most common fish caught off the Bailiwick shores are:

Many more fish are in abundance around the shores.

Guernsey records

Locations

Caught Record Fish Locations

Guernsey

St Peter Port Breakwater - (Location of 8 Bailiwick Records (Angler Fish, Couchs Sea Bream, Lesser Spotted Dogfish, Flounder, Smooth Hound, Tadpole Fish, Whiting and Ballan Wrasse)). As the records show, the St Peter Port breakwater is good fishing for many species. Located just passed Castle Cornet in the town of St Peter Port. The breakwater is a light house on the end of a pier. It offers easy access and safe fishing although it can be a very busy site due to this facts.

Guernsey (clothing)

A guernsey, or gansey, is a seaman's knitted woollen sweater, similar to a jersey, which originated in the Channel Island of the same name.

Origins

The guernsey is the mainstay of Guernsey's knitting industry which can be dated back to the late 15th century when a royal grant was obtained to import wool from England and re-export knitted goods to Normandy and Spain. Peter Heylin described the manufacture and export of "waste-cotes" during the reign of Charles I. The first use of the name "guernsey" outside of the island is in the 1851 Oxford Dictionary, but the garment was in use in the bailiwick before that.

The guernsey came into being as a garment for fishermen who required a warm, hard wearing, yet comfortable item of clothing that would resist the sea spray. The hard twist given to the tightly packed wool fibres in the spinning process and the tightly knitted stitches, produced a finish that would "turn water" and is capable of repelling rain and spray.

The guernsey was traditionally knitted by the fishermen's wives and the pattern passed down from mother to daughter through the generations. This is a practice which still exists today with the final finishing of the machine-knit parts completed by hand.