The acquisition of a larger and more comfortable netter represents an upgrade for Lorient fisherman Christophe Audo – as he also plans to take a step back from fishing.
The 23-metre, 8-metre beam Santa Anna Maria was built on the other side of the bay at the Bernard shipyard in Locmiquélic in 2004 and by acquiring this vessel as a replacement for the 17-metre, 1997-built Anna Mamm Mari, this is a step up to a way of operating that offers more opportunities. It’s an investment of approximately €2 million.
Santa Anna Maria was christened in its new home port of Lorient in April, before heading south to the Vendée to start fishing.
‘We are starting with 4-day trips with seven crew. We’ll be landing mainly in Noirmoutier and Les Sables d’Olonne, mainly targeting sole, but also turbot, monkfish, skate,’ Christophe Audo said.
There will be a need for a crew of ten altogether, including an engineer with a 750kW certificate, as the intention is to rotate crew on a regular basis so everyone gets time ashore.
‘The challenge is to ensure a good routine and better comfort at work to ensure crew loyalty,’ he said. ‘This is taking a new step. Despite the constraints that rain down on our profession, fishing in the Bay of Biscay still has a future.’
Later this year he plans to step aside, handing over management of the company to his wife Magali, while his son Titouan is currently completing training at the Etel Maritime College before joining the crew of Santa Anna Maria this summer.
