COVID19 and the fishing industry - same problems - different countries and different solutions: Bretons work together to sell their seafood.

The official organisations in the Brittany region of France swung into action to support producers and consumers across the region in the COROVID19 crisis. Brittany is home to the largest fleet of fishing vessels in France. The French industry enjoys huge support from their Committee for Fisheries (Commité de la Pêche) to which every vessel, merchant and processor pays a levy - they also help fund start-ups in business from boats to processing plants.

Click to see how the interactive fishing industry map works.

The Regional committee for fisheries, producers of fishing and shellfish farming, fishmongers and fishmongers: the whole Breton sector of seafood products has gathered around the Breizhmer association to launch the Allolamer.bzh directory.

"Already 49,130 ​​consumers and 1,395 producers, operators and artisans registered on the solidarity platform!"

Put online from Wednesday 22, this Breton directory of fresh seafood had around sixty professionals registered in less than 48 hours. "The idea is to bring Breton consumers and producers closer," says Olivier Le Nezet, president of the regional committee for fisheries and Breizhmer.

Free, this online directory is not a merchant site, no order can be placed there. But it allows consumers to locate fishermen selling live, shellfish farmers, fishmongers and fishmongers on an interactive map. With the hours and places of sale and the coordinates of the producers, if they make home delivery.

Accelerated implementation

The idea had been in the making for a few months, but its implementation, which cost some 15,000 euros, was accelerated by containment and the market crisis due to the coronavirus, which limits the movement of consumers and professionals. The site also wants to insist on proximity links. "There was a CCI campaign for years, on the theme of "our shopping is our jobs", specifies Jean-Yves Cadalen, fishmonger and fishmonger in Brest, president of Abapp (Breton Association of buyers of the products of fishing), which brings together buyers in the auctions of the region. We are of the same philosophy."

Supported by the Brittany region, this sectoral action is complementary to that of produits-locaux.bzh launched the previous week. It is also associated with the Enviedemer.com commercial site.

Last week it was the dilemma, exactly the same that afflicts UK fishmongers, of French fishmongers to be featured in Le Marin.

A “bloody” crisis threatens traditional fishmongers

The covid-19 crisis does not only affect the upstream side of the fishing industry. If, downstream, the GMS are doing generally well, the traditional fishmonger is reached.

"From 5 to 10% of fishmongers will file for bankruptcy," said Silvère Moreau, president of Opef , in an interview with PDM . According to him, the inventory of the profession is "catastrophic" . Silvère Moreau estimates that "200 companies will have closed down by July" .

The Organization of Fishmongers and Scalers of France, which since 2019 has brought together the National Union of Fishmongers of France (UNPF) and the National Confederation of Fishmongers and Scalers of France, is the employers' organization of the sector and represents 3,000 businesses and more 8,000 employees.


Story courtesy of Bernard Jegou, Editor of Le Marin.

Interestingly, Le Marin Editor, Bernard Jegou is the son of a Breton skipper, Bernard Jegou, who was a regular visitor to Newlyn when sheltering from westerly storms while fishing for langoustine in his boat Riquita seen here entering the gaps in Newlyn.