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Sunday 26 May 2024



A few weeks before the Fisheries and Seafood Conference which is being held in Lorient, “the sailor” devotes his May report to a sector which is going through a very bad time. The fishing industry, faced with several crises, is resisting. But until when?

How many crises will the sector still have to face? 

Barely forgotten that of covid, that of Brexit arose, with direct consequences in 2023: the loss of licenses in British waters and the outright destruction of part of the deep-sea fleet. Leaving many fishermen at the docks from Hauts-de-France to the south of the Bay of Biscay.

And it didn't stop there. At the end of the year, fishermen across the western Atlantic learned that they would not escape the closure of the Bay of Biscay for a month at the start of 2024. Another hard blow for the profession which wonders if it will ever see The end of the tunnel. Because other clouds are still gathering above its head: in the north, where certain fishermen will be prohibited from working in British and Belgian marine protected areas, in the south where a West Med 2 plan is looming which could further constrain activity, and, again in the Bay of Biscay, where a new closure is envisaged from the beginning of 2025. And what about fuel aid, the renewal of which is far from being confirmed. The cup is full.

The entire sector impacted

Today the entire sector is suffering because, deprived of inputs, many ports have seen their activity plummet. And fish merchants must now find other sources of supply. Not to mention the equipment manufacturers and construction sites whose health is also weakened. In this context, the sector will have difficulty responding to the decarbonization efforts to which it is asked to comply.

Also in the contents of this May issue: the disappointed expectations of European purse seiners in the Indian Ocean, the financial needs of European commercial ports to develop their activities, the positive repercussions of the crisis in the Red Sea on the western Mediterranean ports, the Green mineral's solution to exploit funds in Norway, the full boom in oil and gas orders, the government's promises concerning the timetable for the deployment of wind power and the means of the Cross de La Garde in the Mediterranean on the eve of major meetings you popular.