No fish at the auction. Many French fishing ports will be shut down on Thursday and Friday, as part of a mobilization launched by the National Committee for Maritime Fisheries and Marine Farming (CNPMEM). In other cities, fishermen have already started the movement. Le Parisien takes stock of the reasons for this mobilization.
What are the fishermen protesting against?
In question, a fed up with the sector, an “accumulation of standards, threats, litigation” which “calls into question the very foundation of our profession by making us feel guilty”, argues the committee in a press release.
“Inadequate European regulations” are in the sights of the protesters, in particular the ban on bottom fishing in marine protected areas by 2030, and the decision of the Council of State imposing the closure of certain fishing zones in the Atlantic, in order to preserve the dolphins whose strandings have multiplied in the Bay of Biscay.
Another glaring problem: Brexit. The UK’s exit from the European Union resulted in 90 ships being scrapped according to the CNPMEM. This makes them fear that their activity will be “compromised by incessant harassment and piecemeal support without support towards a vision for the future”.
What are their demands?
The CNPMEM reports a dozen claims in a “non-exhaustive” list, beyond the regulations to which their sector is subject. Among them, obtaining a meeting with Emmanuel Macron, the withdrawal of a European plan for “resilient fishing”, as well as the preparation now of the post 2026 deadlines, within the framework of Brexit.
They are also calling for the payment of diesel aid, “some of which has not been paid for six months”, and the harmonization of fishing control rules and vessel safety in France, where a complex administrative mille-feuille paralyzes the investments due to lack of visibility.
An open letter was sent to Emmanuel Macron last week, and has not yet received a response. In the meantime, the committee “calls on all professional representatives to suspend their participation in environmental management bodies”. The slogan of the mobilization is simple: to understand, “in the face of all these attacks”, what is the “response of the government and its highest authorities”.
What does a “dead line day” consist of?
Not a boat at sea, not a fish sold, no fish trade, no processing: the activity of the entire sector must purely and simply be stopped on Thursday and Friday, according to the committee’s call. An unprecedented operation, organized collectively: “It is a unitary, coordinated and responsible action, calling for calm and respect for the will of all”, insists the press release.
Many Breton ports have already announced that they would mobilize, just like the one you Havre (Seine-Maritime), which provides for a total stoppage of activity from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
A movement already started in several ports
Local Fisheries Committees can choose a mobilization day at their convenience. Thus in Boulogne-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais), the main French fishing port, the blockages began on Sunday evening. And on Tuesday, the auction closed its doors, with orders given to European ships not to come and dock and unload their fish.
The extension of the movement was voted until Friday, indicates The voice of the North. The socialist mayor of the city, Frédéric Cuvillier, has also lent his support to the movement and called for a “front” at European level against the regulations.
On the side of Saint-Brieuc (Côtes-d’Armor), the fishermen did not wait either. They gathered in front of the prefecture on Wednesday, notes The Telegrambefore a delegation is received.
Same movement in Bayonne (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), where fishermen came from all over the Atlantic coast, from Arcachon to Saint-Jean-de-Luz via Capbreton. “We are here this morning because we have no choice, our survival is at stake,” said Olivier Mercier, fisherman from Arcachon and skipper of two boats.