A new project with funding from France Filière Pêche aims to develop strategies to reduce fuel consumption on board existing fishing vessels.
According to the Brittany Regional Fisheries Committee, while the shipping sector has already made steps in this direction, the fishing sector lacks the industrial and financial weight to follow suit, and therefore will struggle to decarbonise without support.
‘Energy transition has gone beyond wishful thinking to become an urgent necessity,’ a CRPMEM Bretagne representative commented.
In addition to the technological challenges, the sector could face decarbonisation targets, as well as the favourable tax position becoming limited or eliminated under the ongoing WTO negotiations.
As well as the development and testing of technological solutions, the Committee states that there is no doubt that more space will be needed on board fishing vessels to enable a new generation of propulsion systems to be taken into widespread use – and this would necessitate the lifting of the current tonnage restrictions under the Common Fisheries Policy.
The HYBA project focuses initially on hybrid technology of the kind already available to the automotive sector, and fortunately this requires a modest amount of additional space on board. The first stage is a feasibility study with the focus on energy usage analysis, fishing gear optimisation, and implications for stability and vessel construction. A set of options will be presented at the end of the feasibility study stage.
The second stage of the HRBA project is to put these proposed options into practical use.
The project is approved by Pôle Mer Bretagne and funded by France Filière Pêche.
It brings together hybridisation specialist Vectura System, CRPMEM de Bretagne, Lorient fishing company Armement APAK-SCAPAK, the Piriou shipyard, electrical engineering company Marinelec, fishing gear sipplier Le Drezen, naval architect Coprexma, reduction gear company Masson, data analyst IMT Atlantique, and artificial intelligence and propulsion exports from Ecole Navale.
