Question 139 — aquaculture and professional fishing

Summary

Mr. Patrice Martin draws the attention of the Minister Delegate to the Minister for Partnership with Territories and Decentralization, responsible for the sea and fishing, to the worrying economic situation of French fishermen. The fishing sector in France, which employs 12,407 professionals and generates an annual turnover of 1.9 billion euros (FranceAgriMer), is positioned as the third producer in the Union European. However, key sub-sectors such as deep-sea fishing, offshore fishing and large-scale French fishing are seriously affected by competition perceived as unfair from certain neighboring states. In the Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel, French fishermen face increased competition from giant foreign trawlers, notably Dutch ones, capable of processing up to 250 tonnes of fish. per day, compared to only 50 tonnes per year for French trawlers. In 2021, the French fleet only had around thirty ships over 40 meters and 158 boats measuring between 24 and 40 meters. This flagrant disproportion highlights a manifest inequality in the means implemented by the Member States of the European Union. French fishermen are also subject to particularly strict regulations, often lacking the flexibility necessary to preserve their activity. The obligation to reject an average of 80,000 euros of fish per boat per year, under the guise of combating overfishing, proves to be economically counterproductive and represents a flagrant injustice. This context, aggravated by the absence of effective controls in certain European neighbors, has contributed to a growing feeling of frustration and despair among professionals in the sector. The post-Brexit effects also continue to weigh heavily on the sector. The resumption by the United Kingdom of its exclusive economic zone, combined with the end of the common fisheries policy between France and the United Kingdom in favor of international law of the sea, has weakened the competitiveness of French fishermen, already weakened by competition from third countries and illegal fishing practices, not declared and unregulated (INN). This unfavorable situation results in a significant trade deficit of 5.568 billion euros, illustrating the growing imbalance between French players and their European competitors. Faced with this situation, he wishes to know what measures the Government intends to take to fight against this unfair competition, meet the post-Brexit geopolitical challenges and effectively support the French fishing industry as a whole.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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