With its 8 fishing ports and port facilities of territorial interest (APIT) located on the coastal municipalities (Les Anses d’Arlet, Case Pilote, Le Diamant, Le François, Grand Rivière, Le Marin, Trinité, le Vauclin), Martinique is facing an urgent organization of its fishing industry. The work started ten years ago has given rise to a system for identifying professionals who have logically adhered to the charter of commitment governing the activity.
“We are continuing the work started by my predecessors. It’s primordial. We are satisfied,” assures Jean-Michel Cotrébil, Chairman of the Fisheries Committee. In fact, out of the 550 sea-fishermen listed by the Direction de la mer, approximately 50% have signed the charter and collected their identification badges.
On November 23, the Chairman of the Fisheries Committee thus presented jointly with the State services, his fellow fishermen, the representatives of the mayors and the territorial collectivity of Martinique the tools ensuring the traceability of the actors of this sector. economical: badges and identification cards stuck on boats and equipment.
For Jean-Christophe Bouvier, the prefect of Martinique, it is a question of “responding to the challenge imposed by chlordecone which has prohibited fishing on a third of the Martinican coast. But beyond that, there is the challenge of providing Martiniquais and Martiniquais with a quality product that comes from areas, excluding chlordecone, which will be enhanced by this work carried out by all, that is to say when traceability will be done correctly”.
Improve resource exploitation
This organization therefore promises good management of fisheries resources in terms of sustainability of the resource and therefore of the activity. For example, fishing for white sea urchins remains prohibited so that the species can reproduce sufficiently, except for a few days (between October 1 and December 31) and provided that the resource allows it, i.e. ie the index of abundance and development of gonads.
For Claude Joncart, a diversified fisherman (line, trap, longline) on Le Vauclin for fifteen years, “it’s an advantage because this registration allows you to see which people are in good standing and frequent a port of sin. This is reassuring for the client and it proves the transparency of the professional in relation to his job. The badge and the QR code give the complete CV of the professional”.
However, the work of concerting and improving the exploitation of maritime resources is not complete. Other meetings will be scheduled for 2,023 knowing that fund checks have shown that the perimeter of the maritime areas affected by the chlordecone molecule has decreased.