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| Hervé Berville meeting professionals in the fishing industry, at the Guilvinec auction. (The Telegram/Benjamin Billot) |
The Secretary of State for the Sea, Hervé Berville, came to meet fishing professionals on Friday, October 28, at Guilvinec. Fishermen and wholesalers expressed their concerns about the price of fuel and the fleet exit plan.
It is 5:30 a.m. when Hervé Berville gets out of his government sedan, to rush into the Guilvinec fish auction, Friday, October 28. The Secretary of State for the Sea, followed by a handful of local elected officials, is expected by fishing professionals who are facing a new crisis situation.
The price of fuel , which jumped with the war in Ukraine, is the first burning issue. The second is the Brexit-related fleet exit plan, which has reduced the fishing areas accessible to the French. Strategically renamed “individual support plan” by the government, it offers financial support for skippers who choose to send a ship for scrapping.
It is 5:30 a.m. when Hervé Berville gets out of his government sedan, to rush into the Guilvinec fish auction, Friday, October 28. The Secretary of State for the Sea, followed by a handful of local elected officials, is expected by fishing professionals who are facing a new crisis situation.
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| The visit to the auction is an opportunity for the Secretary of State to discuss with the employees.(The Telegram/Benjamin Billot) |
The visit to the auction is an opportunity for the Secretary of State to discuss with the employees. (The Telegram/Benjamin Billot)
After visiting the auction to shake a few hands and discuss with the employees, the Secretary of State and the local elected officials sat around a table, with representatives of the sector, to take stock of the situation. On leaving, Christophe Collin, the boss of the Bigouden Armament , which has eleven offshore vessels, was not really happy: “In a fortnight, we won't have any more help. At the current price of diesel, it will no longer be possible to send ships out to sea”.
The state wants supermarkets to take over Hervé Berville, announced it previously, he wishes that the large distribution take over to finance the assistance with the fuel. An idea reminiscent of the "fish tax", set up between 2007 and 2011 , to help fishermen cope, already, with the increase in the price of diesel.
But the negotiations have not been successful for the moment: “It has not progressed as much as I wanted, gets annoyed Hervé Berville. I asked the government to put the legislative mechanism on the table, to ensure that the contribution of the players in the sector is up to the challenges. I say it once again, the sector must show solidarity. We need to have products from the French fishery on our stalls”.
Hervé Berville in the cutting workshop at the Guilvinec auction. Hervé Berville in the cutting workshop at the Guilvinec auction. (The Telegram/Benjamin Billot) While the end of the aid is approaching, the rest is still not settled: "We will have to make announcements in the coming days", specifies Hervé Berville, who wanted to remind the State of support for fishermen: “We would like there to be boats that go out, to supply the auctions”.
About thirty boats eligible for the fleet exit plan The fleet exit plan is another sensitive topic discussed during the visit. Eligibility conditions and financial compensation were published at the beginning of October. Christine Zamuner, mayor of Loctudy and vice-president of the community of communes of the Pays bigouden sud in charge of the economy, assures that, out of the fifty deep-sea vessels in the ports of Cornouaille, around thirty are eligible for the plan and could submit a file. A figure from an estimate by the local fisheries committee.
To read on the subject Brexit: the conditions of the fleet exit plan for dockside fishermen However, not all applications submitted will necessarily be accepted. Choices will be made at the level of the regional prefecture and the State undertook, during the meeting this Friday morning, to be vigilant so as not to “unbalance the territories”. Shipowners will have until November 18 to submit their applications.
The state wants supermarkets to take over Hervé Berville, announced it previously, he wishes that the large distribution take over to finance the assistance with the fuel. An idea reminiscent of the "fish tax", set up between 2007 and 2011 , to help fishermen cope, already, with the increase in the price of diesel.
But the negotiations have not been successful for the moment: “It has not progressed as much as I wanted, gets annoyed Hervé Berville. I asked the government to put the legislative mechanism on the table, to ensure that the contribution of the players in the sector is up to the challenges. I say it once again, the sector must show solidarity. We need to have products from the French fishery on our stalls”.
Hervé Berville in the cutting workshop at the Guilvinec auction. Hervé Berville in the cutting workshop at the Guilvinec auction. (The Telegram/Benjamin Billot) While the end of the aid is approaching, the rest is still not settled: "We will have to make announcements in the coming days", specifies Hervé Berville, who wanted to remind the State of support for fishermen: “We would like there to be boats that go out, to supply the auctions”.
About thirty boats eligible for the fleet exit plan The fleet exit plan is another sensitive topic discussed during the visit. Eligibility conditions and financial compensation were published at the beginning of October. Christine Zamuner, mayor of Loctudy and vice-president of the community of communes of the Pays bigouden sud in charge of the economy, assures that, out of the fifty deep-sea vessels in the ports of Cornouaille, around thirty are eligible for the plan and could submit a file. A figure from an estimate by the local fisheries committee.
To read on the subject Brexit: the conditions of the fleet exit plan for dockside fishermen However, not all applications submitted will necessarily be accepted. Choices will be made at the level of the regional prefecture and the State undertook, during the meeting this Friday morning, to be vigilant so as not to “unbalance the territories”. Shipowners will have until November 18 to submit their applications.