Two recent stories from. the French media covering the degree how much French and largely Breton fishing may be hit in the wake of Brexit.
Stories courtesy of Le Telegramme.
In Lorient, the post-Brexit scrapping plan would release four Scapêche boatsWhat are the consequences for the fishing port of Lorient of the fleet exit plan, which threatens to scrap seven Scapêche boats? Yves Foëzon, director of the producers' organization Pêcheurs de Bretagne, answers.
Where are we today with the Individual Support Plan (PAI), the fleet exit plan opened by the State, which is to send 45 Breton fishing boats to the scrapyard, including four from Lorient?
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| The Jean-Claude Coulon, a 45-meter trawler built in 2005, risks ending up scrapped, as part of the Individual Support Plan (PAI), opened by the State, as part of Brexit. (The Telegram/Sophie Paitier) |
The state has put €65m on the table for this Brexit-related fleet exit plan . Brexit has caused tensions over certain quotas or problems of access to areas of the Celtic Sea. The shipping lines that have applied to bring out their boats have received their agreements from the State. They must now say whether or not they confirm their positions to destroy their ships or not. There will be a second round.
Post-Brexit fishing: half of the boats destroyed in the fleet exit plan are Breton
We know that the Scapêche armament is concerned. Are we talking about four Lorient boats, including a 45 meter, the Jean-Claude Coulon and several others based in the Bigouden country and in northern Finistère?
Some Scapêche boats are in the first round. But we don't know if Scapêche has confirmed all of its ships or not. La Scapêche candidate for seven in total. Presumably, there will be four trawlers for the port of Lorient and seven ships in all. The administration does not yet communicate the official list of vessels retained. We are waiting for this list. It is possible that the shipowners who had applied in the first round do not confirm and free up space. The list will be supplemented by the following vessels, those with a sufficient Brexit dependency rate to enter the €65 million envelope released by the State.
What impact will this have for the port of Lorient?
In the current context of diesel and energy crises, given the fragile balances, any drop in supply is detrimental.
Does this represent significant fewer contributions for the Lorient fish auction?
This represents in value between 10 and 11 M € and 3,500 tonnes of fish landed. It calls into question the overall balance, for production, for the first buyers, for suppliers, for service providers, for the port. The whole industry will be impacted. There will be a bottom of the wave in the coming months. This summer there will be an actual destruction of ships. The boats will gradually stop but we will be able to measure the impact, as names are given and from this summer when the boats are actually destroyed.
What is the impact for Scapêche?
For regulatory and legal reasons, Scapêche is one of the shipping companies that does not receive diesel aid. They are capped at €330,000 for all of their vessels. It's nothing. However, diesel has a direct impact on the remuneration of crews. The Scapêche armament and others in the Bigouden country find themselves in a very delicate situation. Compared to other armaments, they have a distortion of competition. To be able to maintain the recruitment of sailors, they are obliged to compensate for the absence of helpers. There is a fairness issue.
And for the producer organization Pêcheurs de Bretagne?
We manage 650 ships in Brittany and Loire-Atlantique. Potentially, we have 45 ships that can go out with the PAI. These are boats that have significant contributions. In high hypothesis, we estimate that we would lose 15% of the turnover made by our members. Even if no one can assess the economic impact to date. The context is not favourable. We will have to maintain economic profitability for the remaining ships. If the context does not improve, it will be complicated. But the collective and pooled management of a producers' organization makes it possible to cushion this type of shock. It is she who will give prospects to the ships that will remain.
Post-Brexit fishing: half of the boats destroyed in the fleet exit plan are Breton
What impact will this have for the port of Lorient?
In the current context of diesel and energy crises, given the fragile balances, any drop in supply is detrimental.
Does this represent significant fewer contributions for the Lorient fish auction?
This represents in value between 10 and 11 M € and 3,500 tonnes of fish landed. It calls into question the overall balance, for production, for the first buyers, for suppliers, for service providers, for the port. The whole industry will be impacted. There will be a bottom of the wave in the coming months. This summer there will be an actual destruction of ships. The boats will gradually stop but we will be able to measure the impact, as names are given and from this summer when the boats are actually destroyed.
What is the impact for Scapêche?
For regulatory and legal reasons, Scapêche is one of the shipping companies that does not receive diesel aid. They are capped at €330,000 for all of their vessels. It's nothing. However, diesel has a direct impact on the remuneration of crews. The Scapêche armament and others in the Bigouden country find themselves in a very delicate situation. Compared to other armaments, they have a distortion of competition. To be able to maintain the recruitment of sailors, they are obliged to compensate for the absence of helpers. There is a fairness issue.
And for the producer organization Pêcheurs de Bretagne?
We manage 650 ships in Brittany and Loire-Atlantique. Potentially, we have 45 ships that can go out with the PAI. These are boats that have significant contributions. In high hypothesis, we estimate that we would lose 15% of the turnover made by our members. Even if no one can assess the economic impact to date. The context is not favourable. We will have to maintain economic profitability for the remaining ships. If the context does not improve, it will be complicated. But the collective and pooled management of a producers' organization makes it possible to cushion this type of shock. It is she who will give prospects to the ships that will remain.
Post-Brexit fishing: half of the boats destroyed in the fleet exit plan are Breton
Forty-five Breton ships will be destroyed as part of the fleet exit plan, or half of the boats selected nationally.
The hard blow is confirmed for Breton fishing. The fleet exit plan, a consequence of restricted access to British waters after Brexit, is taking shape more precisely with the announcement, this Friday, of the number of boats that will be scrapped. As we announced on January 26 , 90 ships are affected nationwide and 34 others are on a waiting list. 164 applications had been filed.
Brittany is the most impacted region of France since of the 64 Breton files submitted, 45 were retained, which represents 4% of the regional fleet and half of the ships destroyed in France as part of this individual support plan. (PAI). Eight boats are on the waiting list. Bigouden trawlers alone account for 26 scrapped vessels .
Dismantling of ships in France
For Hervé Berville, Secretary of State for the Sea, “the plan will improve economic and financial situations. Everything has been done to preserve the local economy and provide the means to develop fishing in France”. “I wanted to have a different logic for dealing with the ships, the shipowners directly impacted by Brexit, in order to respond to the difficulties of the sector for years and not simply by a fleet exit plan. It is for this reason that there are no age criteria on the ships. These are criteria solely related to stocks and dependence on UK waters,” he said.
In a document sent this Friday, the Secretary of State for the Sea specifies that "77% of the shipping companies selected have accepted the PAI, 14% are still in reflection and 8% have withdrawn". The shipowners selected now have three months to dismantle the boats, after which they will be able to receive the aid. “The dismantling phase of the ships must be done on French shipyards like Brest, Boulogne-sur-Mer or Bordeaux and not in foreign countries. It is an issue of good use of public money, ”insisted Hervé Berville.
The conditions for access to compensation - for example the justification of a dependency of at least 20% of the total value of sales of its catches made in British waters in 2019 or 2020 - were set by the government in October . The overall envelope is 65 million euros, financed by the European Commission. The amount of aid is calculated for each ship according to its power.
Before the Senate, at the beginning of February, Hervé Berville reaffirmed that the implementation of this PAI had been dictated by three principles: "helping fishermen", "maintaining fishing capacity" in France and "not destabilizing" the the entire sector, from fishermen to port industries dependent on this activity.
Brittany is the most impacted region of France since of the 64 Breton files submitted, 45 were retained, which represents 4% of the regional fleet and half of the ships destroyed in France as part of this individual support plan. (PAI). Eight boats are on the waiting list. Bigouden trawlers alone account for 26 scrapped vessels .
Dismantling of ships in France
For Hervé Berville, Secretary of State for the Sea, “the plan will improve economic and financial situations. Everything has been done to preserve the local economy and provide the means to develop fishing in France”. “I wanted to have a different logic for dealing with the ships, the shipowners directly impacted by Brexit, in order to respond to the difficulties of the sector for years and not simply by a fleet exit plan. It is for this reason that there are no age criteria on the ships. These are criteria solely related to stocks and dependence on UK waters,” he said.
In a document sent this Friday, the Secretary of State for the Sea specifies that "77% of the shipping companies selected have accepted the PAI, 14% are still in reflection and 8% have withdrawn". The shipowners selected now have three months to dismantle the boats, after which they will be able to receive the aid. “The dismantling phase of the ships must be done on French shipyards like Brest, Boulogne-sur-Mer or Bordeaux and not in foreign countries. It is an issue of good use of public money, ”insisted Hervé Berville.
The conditions for access to compensation - for example the justification of a dependency of at least 20% of the total value of sales of its catches made in British waters in 2019 or 2020 - were set by the government in October . The overall envelope is 65 million euros, financed by the European Commission. The amount of aid is calculated for each ship according to its power.
Before the Senate, at the beginning of February, Hervé Berville reaffirmed that the implementation of this PAI had been dictated by three principles: "helping fishermen", "maintaining fishing capacity" in France and "not destabilizing" the the entire sector, from fishermen to port industries dependent on this activity.