Is the fishing industry going to close ranks, break in two, save the furniture or transfer to "everyone for themselves"?
France fishing industry (FFP) had entrusted a prospective exercise to FranceAgrimer. A group of 24 experts gathered 19 times in two years developed 1,000 hypotheses, integrating the dependencies between factors. They arrived at four contrasted scenarios. Presented in animated cartoons at the Assises de la Filière in September , then during regional workshops, they aim at " the elaboration of winning strategies" , recalls FranceAgrimer, who has just published the summary (16 pages) .
In the "fishing industry closes the ranks", fishermen's associations buy quotas (become private), pool ship financing and communicate to counterbalance the criticism of NGOs. The offer is massified and centralized sales. There are losers, but it is more attractive that "the sector breaks in two": there, deteriorated weather conditions and NGO lobbying reduce access to fish. The industry is shrinking, the fleet is aging, and only high-end players are doing well.
Less fatalistic, "the sector saves the furniture" illustrates an adaptation around reference ports, with consolidated upstream-downstream links. As for the "everyone for themselves", explicit, it starts from a strong disruption of catches due to climate change, exacerbated by the lack of cooperation.
Build a five-year action plan
But these brief summaries do not reflect the richness of the scenarios and the influences of each link on the others: one has to read the synthesis to foresee the levers to activate in order to anticipate the evolutions. Strategic thinking continues, in parallel with work including aquaculture and freshwater carried out in the wake of the States General of Food. A sector plan has been submitted (read "the sailor" of Thursday, February 8) , but it is more like a diagnosis, and it is to build by June "a real action plan on five years " , says FranceAgrimer .
Its fisheries and aquaculture council, meeting on January 31, proposes to open large-scale projects: renewal of the fleet, management of the rights to produce, organization of the first sale, circulation of information flows, interprofessional organization, dissemination of information. 'a culture of innovation, attractiveness of trades and product communication.
Full story courtesy of a Google translation from Solène LE ROUX writing in Le Marin.