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The Sables d'Olonne fish market is known for being a stronghold of sole. © J.-.M LP./PDM/FIS
100 boats stuck at the dock for a month
FRANCE
Friday, February 23, 2024, 06:50 (GMT + 9)
In Pays de la Loire, the first quarter of 2024 began under very bad auspices.
 The start of the year was in fact weighed down by two decisions penalizing the sector. The first dates back to the Council of European Fisheries Ministers from December 10 to 12, recording two reductions in quotas (– 6% for sole and – 41% for whiting). The second came on December 22: an interim decision from the Council of State ordered the closure of fishing for gillnetters and pelagic trawlers from January 22 to February 20. A real blow for the profession which hoped to be able to work during this period, equipped with repellents to scare away marine mammals.
La Criée des Sables location. Photo: visiteznosentreprises -->
Around 100 boats were hit hard. And, in turn, the auction marketing sector and the fish trade link. “I have just set up with a boat, I was thinking of counting on the sole season to bring in cash, but we are going to be stuck,” explains Jean Le Hyaric, gillnetter in Les Sables-d'Olonne. At 58 years old, Éric Taraud, owner of the filleter Ptit Gaël II , in L'Île-d'Yeu, speaks from the bottom of his heart: “Today, I am an angry fisherman and a disillusioned citizen. I feel like I no longer fit in in this society... Despite all our efforts, even our sacrifices, we ended up being sacrificed on the altar of ecology."
La Criée des Sables. Photo: visiteznosentreprises
The industry that markets the fish has already quantified the losses. “In Sables-d'Olonne, we are going to lose 330 tonnes and 150 tonnes in Noirmoutier,” says Sébastien Le Reun, responsible for port concessions at the Vendée Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "Of course, we are affected by sole but also by all other species caught with nets such as bass… We are in areas suitable for fishing where fishmongers have developed markets. There will be repercussions on employment in the sector." Despite its capacity to adapt, fishing in Pays de la Loire is facing an increasingly difficult exercise in order to survive.
Author/Source: Jean-Marie LE PROVOST / Produit de la Mer (translated from original in french)
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