In Rennes, fishermen express ‘fed up with endangered profession’

A disaster missile hit Ren’s sky. Then others, on the morning of Wednesday March 22nd. The 500 fishermen gathered on the Esplanade of Charles de Gaulle want to be heard. “Bored with a profession in danger”. These professionals met through email loops. They come from the Pays de la Loire, Normandy, but especially from Brittany, the country’s leading maritime region.

Among them: Simon Le Gorun, boss CainworthA gilmeter from Quiberon (Morbihan), employing two sailors. “We come to shout our anger at all these restrictions that are killing French fishing. There are so many that I don’t know where to start.”Annoys the forties. So he begins by saying that “rotting” Daily: Fuel price. A liter of diesel today exceeds 83 euro cents, while it fluctuated within 50 cents for the last ten years. A similar small ship Cainworth It swallows 300 liters per exit.

According to fishermen, their load has increased by an average of 35% in recent months. Fuel price rises, however, have been contained by government subsidies of up to 20 cents per liter until October 2022. “This help is temporary. We want to work quietly with visibility. “ Continues Gregory Metier, President of the Department of Marine Fisheries and Aquaculture in Cote d’Armor.

Covid-19, then Brexit

The sector is emerging from several years of turbulence, following Covid-19 but also Brexit, which set up tough negotiations to withdraw the licenses needed to fish in British waters. First of all, professionals are annoyed to live in the rhythm of annual quotas set by the European Union to preserve resources, but also in the rhythm of limiting fishing zones.

Brussels is working to ban the widespread practice of trawling in marine protected areas. Part of the Bay of Biscay is concerned. On Monday, March 20, the Council of State, which is occupied by three associations, called on the government to act to preserve the endangered cetaceans, again in the Bay of Biscay.

Scallop fisherman in the English Channel, Gregory Meteyer, is concerned about the restrictions imposed by the upcoming wind farm in St. Bruce Bay. Especially since the government plans to develop up to fifty such facilities on the French coast in the coming years. Sailor says: “How do we encourage young people to settle when we can’t tell them where or how much they can fish. It’s time to punch the table! »