According to Ifremer, the Baie de Seine area has record scallop stocks this year, ready for the opening of the 2018-19 season. The stock in the zone within the 12-mile limit south of the Barfleur-Cap d’Antifer line is estimated to be 63,600 tonnes, compared to 48,600 tonnes in 2017.
‘The abundance of the scallop stocks in the Baie de Seine this year, as demonstrated by Ifremer, increasingly reflects the efforts made by the industry in terms of sustainable management of this resource. This is a promising announcement prior to the opening of the fishing season which will begin on 1st October in the Eastern Channel, before opening on 1st November in the Baie de Seine area,’ said a spokesman for French fishermen’s organisation CNPMEM
‘Since the early 2000s, the scallop stock has seen a steady upward trend, as a result of the implementation of responsible management measures by French fishermen.’
Limitations include restrictions on days and fishing hours per week, a requirement for 92mm rings instead of the 75mm required by EU regulations, daily vessel quotas and a closure of the fishery from 1st June to 30th September.
‘Similar management measures have also been put in place on the Seine-Maritime stock within the 12-mile limit. Although a comparison is not yet possible as the first evaluation survey that took place this year, fishermen are confident of the future improvement in the abundance of this stock,’ CNPMEM’s spokesman said.
‘The Ifremer results should be enough to convince the UK to adopt the same measures in order to benefit, in the medium term, from the benefits of sensible joint management.’
