2023-10-13 17:14:37
The treasure from the bottom of the Channel has made its comeback on the shelves since the beginning of October. “We are still seeing record years of scallops,” says Dimitri Rogoff, president of the Regional Fisheries Committee, the organization responsible for monitoring the resource. “It’s more difficult to manage abundance,” he adds. “The economic context is complicated, consumers are paying attention. » The timid start to the season should not last forever. On the other hand, it echoes the concerns of the sector. In Granville (Manche), fisherman boss Jean-Christian Frésil lists his concerns: “The end of aid for diesel, lower demand and not very high sales prices. »
“Until the holidays, the fresh produce market is doing well. Then demand drops”
Mathieu Vimard, deputy director of the Normandy Fishermen’s Organization
A cocktail that weighs on ships, particularly in view of the second part of the season. “Until the holidays, the fresh produce market is doing well. Then, demand drops,” explains Mathieu Vimard, deputy director of the Normandy Fishermen’s Organization (OPN). A trend that is strengthening. Last year, between January and March, Jean-Christian Frésil saw auction prices fall to €1.40 per kilo, “while ideally, it would be between €2.20 and €2.50 “.
However, the fishermen agreed on a reduction in their quotas. An option renewed from the start of the season, so as not to overcrowd the market. “When we are told to reduce the catch, we listen,” assures the fisherman. You have to go down to bounce back better. » Despite these measures, supply exceeds demand. In this case, the OPN buys shells from its members at a minimum price (around 80% of the average market price). It’s up to her to sell them afterwards. But for the first time, “there remained 35 frozen tons from last year. That’s a million euros in assets. And storage is expensive in terms of energy,” worries Mathieu Vimard.
Difficult to find labor
There is an urgent need to find other outlets. At the port of Courseulles (Calvados), customers prefer shelled walnuts, more comfortable and compatible with freezing. Problem: “It’s difficult to find the labor to peel,” laments Aurélie, sales employee for the trawler Le Raph’al. The job is difficult. It’s cold, the schedules are complicated, it’s repetitive. And it’s seasonal. Many give up. » For several years, the OPN has been shipping whole shells to Scotland to factories which shell them and send them back to France.
Dimitri Rogoff calls on the sector to structure itself but regrets “actors who do not pull in the same direction”. There is no shell industry inter-professional association. An obstacle, according to the president of the fisheries committee, to the promotion of a product “fresh, from sustainable artisanal fishing, easy to cook, which deserves to be highlighted”. The Norman coquillards play very big with the shell. Abundance will work wonders provided that consumption is revived and new markets are found. Sea serpents…
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