The Brittany Fisheries Committee has hit back at critics of the industry, stating that technical advances in trawling negate the criticisms levelled at the sector, and that trawling is an essential part of the region’s diverse fisheries, as well as social and economic stability.
Faced with growing pressure from lobbies campaigning for a ban on trawling in marine protected areas and for trawling as a whole to be phased out, representatives of Brittany’s commercial fisheries want to set the record straight, stating that this is a complex issue that has far more nuance that a narrow-minded and uninformed group of activists are prepared to accept.
‘Trawlers do not blindly destroy the seabed. Fishing grounds are now strictly demarcated to avoid sensitive or at-risk areas,’ a representative of the Brittany Fisheries Committee states.
‘These are fished on a seasonal basis. and these are on muddy or sandy seabed areas, but also monitored by scientific and state authorities to ensure optimal renewal of fish stocks. Trawlers are involved in a variety of fisheries, using selective measures with devices that have been extensively developed in recent years – minimum mesh sizes, square meshes, separation panels and escape routes for juveniles.’
‘While France imports 80% of the seafood consumed in the country, We want Breton fishing products to remain accessible to as many consumers as possible, everywhere, starting with our school canteens. And the trawlers contribute to this,’ says Grégory Métayer, skipper of the trawler Le Pearl and president of the Côtes d’Armor fisheries committee (CDPMEM 22).
He commented that the marine proteins the fleet provides have a much more sustainable carbon footprint than most land-based agricultural produce, plus the industry is fully committed to a major decarbonisation process, notably through the Hyba (Hybride Bretagne Atlantique) research and development project.
‘It is inconceivable to us that fishery products should be reserved for the rich, while others, on a more modest scale, have to make do with imported and farmed products, which are of lower quality and have disastrous ecological and human consequences,’ said Sébastien Le Prince, skipper of Le Guilvinec trawler Magellan II and vice-president of the Finistère, fisheries committee (CDPMEM 29).
He stated that ending trawling would have serious repercussions for the economic and social balance of the Breton coastal territories, where there are three to four shore-based jobs for every one at sea, while dramatically increasing fishing pressure on the coastal zone, an increasingly contested area from which trawlers are the few vessels able to avoid.
‘It would sacrifice the volume and regularity of supplies to many local auction, fishmonger, transport and distribution businesses, jeopardising their viability.’
