Question 12880 — aquaculture and professional fishing

Summary

Mr. Éric Bothorel draws the attention of the Minister of Ecological Transition, Biodiversity and International Negotiations on Climate and Nature to the potential consequences, for the shellfish industry, of government announcements relating to the deployment of fallows on the foreshores and the increased protection of certain coastal environments. The Minister recently confirmed the deployment of fallows on foreshores, consisting of temporarily placing areas at rest by suspending certain activities in order to allow the natural regeneration of ecosystems. At the same time, the Government announced its intention to develop strong protection zones (ZPF) as part of the objective of protecting at least 30% of land and sea areas, including 10% under strong protection by 2030. These guidelines give rise to serious concern among shellfish farming professionals, even though shellfish farming areas are already decreasing under the cumulative effect of regulatory, environmental constraints and competing uses. In a context where the sector is strictly regulated, depends on a healthy coastal environment and contributes to the maintenance of the foreshores as well as the quality of the water, shellfish farmers fear that new measures of resting or sanctuarization does not result, de facto, in a lasting reduction of their production areas. The health of the foreshores also depends much more on the quality and compliance of collective and especially non-collective sanitation. It should be remembered that, in 2022, 61% of the treatment capacity of urban wastewater treatment plants will be discharged into the sea and 12% of the capacity into estuaries. Foreshores and shellfish farmers are the victims of urbanization which does not sufficiently take into account the purification capacities of the territories, especially during heat waves or heavy rainfall. The shellfish industry supports through actions the objectives of preserving biodiversity and restoring coastal ecosystems, but it is concerned about the legal framework of ZPFs, sometimes presented as simple labels when they can, in the long term, be accompanied by restrictions on use or even prohibitions on exploitation. Professionals underline the absence of explicit guarantees on the maintenance of existing shellfish farming areas and ask to be systematically involved, with their representatives, in the definition of the perimeters and management methods of the areas concerned. Consequently, he wishes to know, first of all, whether the deployment of fallows in the foreshores is likely to concern areas currently dedicated to shellfish farming and, where applicable, under what conditions. He then asks to what extent the Government can guarantee that no reinforced protection measures, classification in strong protection zones or fallowing will lead to a net loss of shellfish farming areas. Finally, he asks what arrangements are being considered to reconcile, in a manner sustainable, the objectives of strong protection of coastal environments with the maintenance and development of shellfish farming, an activity essential to the vitality of coastal territories and already significantly contributing to the preservation of the ecological quality of the foreshores. Member of Parliament for Côtes d'Armor and therefore the best scallops in France, he asks him to please clarify his intentions on these different points.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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