An association of more than fifty vessel operators in the French port of Lorient is making real efforts to invest in new fishing vessels.
An association of 55 coastal fishing operators also based in Lorient, Groupement des pêcheurs Artisans Lorientais (GPAL), is working on developing its own fishing vessel of the future, reports Hook and Net.
The twenty demersal and eight pelagic trawlers, twelve netters, seven longliners and three pot fishing boats that make up the membership and they land around 6500 tonnes a year between them.
‘There’s a drastic need to renew the fishing fleet,’ said GPAL’s director Tristan Douard, commenting that while refitting older vessels is a possibility, this does not solve as many problems and there are fewer technical options available.
‘This is all day-boat fishing and the boats range from seven to 20.50 metres. The owners of these boats have got together and recognise that by working together there are opportunities to build new boats and there is a real will to make this happen,’ he said.
There are already boats in construction at the ACCF yard in nearby Pont l’Abbé, with the first due to be delivered this summer and another operator waiting for clearance to go ahead.
‘This first boat is a netter/potter and the owners needed a faster boat to be able to get to fishing grounds more quickly and to be able to work over a wider area,’ Tristan Douard said.
For the Lorient fleet which relies heavily on langoustine as its primary catch, trawling capacity is vital, although the need is also there to be able to work pelagic gear at certain times of the year for sea bream, anchovy, horse mackerel and other species. The size GPAL has in mind is around 15 metres, a touch under the standard 16 metre size that is common in Brittany.
‘The problem is that the price of building a new boat has approximately doubled in the last fifteen years,’ he said. ‘On the other hand, the fish are there. Prices and good and fuel costs are low and while there are political considerations, this is the time to do this.’
