French industry under threat - Dwindling marine catches, intense global competition and encroaching European Union restrictions has plunged the French fishing industry into disarray.
France is the third-largest fish producer in Europe, beaten by Denmark and Spain but ahead of the UK. With a coastline facing three seas and an abundance of overseas territories, it is blessed with a plethora of different species including 150 fish, shellfish, crustaceans and mollusc species. Yet it ranks only 29th in the world in terms of tonnage of catch, according to the FAO's latest ranking (2004).
Total fishery production fell from 901,762 tonnes of fish and seafood in 2000 to just 840,888 in 2004. Total capture fell from 634,992 in 2000 to 597,018 tonnes in 2004 while aquaculture volumes fell slightly less from 266,770 in 2000 to 243,870 in 2004.
Faced with the realization that total fisheries production is unlikely to increase much further, the French government is turning to high-value aquaculture to bridge its trade deficit.
Its main goal is to improve export earnings, feed national consumption and to propel it from its current position in terms of volume in Europe to number one, according to a Ministry of Fisheries spokeswoman. “We see significant potential in niche markets related to high quality and labelled products,” she says.
Coastal and deep-sea fisheries
In December 2003, the French fishing fleet stood at 7,900 vessels compared to 9,000 in 1999. Vessels consisted of 150 deep-sea units, 1,350 artisanal vessels and 6,400 small inshore fishing boats.
In volume terms, the main species were tuna, sardine, saithe, herring, mackerel, horse-mackerel and anchovy while in value, the leading species were tuna, anglerfish, sole, scallop, hake and Norway lobster.
Around two-thirds of all captures are carried out in Northeast Atlantic waters, 7% in the Mediterranean and 20% in overseas territories.
Contentious fishermen
In December 2005, 200 fishermen blocked access to Boulogne-Sur-Mer in protest at new Maximum Catch limits administered under the EU Commons Fisheries Policy. They claimed the limits do not protect the fragile biological state of deep sea stocks including Atlantic cod, blue fin tuna and European sea bass, yet have a knock-on-effect on the number of vessels uploading in their ports.
Last year the EU Fisheries Council imposed a 10% cut in fishing for deep-sea stocks followed in 2006 with an imposed cut of 20%.
Fishing efforts to protect cod stocks, herring, whiting and spurdog were reduced to 15% across all EU member states complete with a reduction of five fishing days. A similar quota was imposed on trawlers targeting nephropsm, beam trawlers (flat fish) and gill netters.
Ministers agreed to increase the quota for langoustine (31%), monkfish (5%), prawns (31) and major stocks of hake (3%). The quota for blue whiting was cut by 100,000 tonnes a year allowing member states to fish two million tonnes.
These decisions affect all French sea-going fishermen who are paid according to their share of the catch. The former is guaranteed a wage but the latter's pay is dependent on the results of each fishing expedition.
Quotas
All vessels fishing in France's EEZ waters need to be registered with the country. They have to have a real economic bond with the French territory and agree to upload a minimum of 50% of their catches in a French port or have 50% of their sailors reside in France.
Fishing quotas are distributed to producer organisations (POs), recognised by the government.
The Minister for Fisheries allocates the quotas where main stock is divided into sub-quotas by Pos, incorporating vessel and catch history.
Battling with pollution
There has been a dependence on imports followed two major oil tanker disasters since 1999. As a result of the accidents, the EU took action and banned large single-hull tankers carrying heavy-grade oil to and from European ports after the two tanker disasters saw oil slicks wash up on French shores in 1999 and again in 2003. The ban, which was a collective decision, came into effect in 2005.
In 2003, the French government also passed a law establishing a 90-mile ecological zone. France reserves the right to impose four-year prison sentences on captains of tankers and other large vessels caught polluting within the zone.
Main ports
Brittany represents the most important port of Metropolitan France (45% of captures), followed by Normandy (21%) and Pas-de-Calais (11%).
Boulogne-sur-Mer in the north is the country's most important fishing port supporting 200 companies who process more than 20% of the nation's tinned fish and half of its frozen fish every year.
Other ports include Cornouaille, Lorient and Marennes-Oléron. Meanwhile, increasingly, France is turning to its overseas territories for fish canning and packaging due to lower production costs.
To be concluded next month...
