The Council of State again confirmed on Monday “the need for a fishing closure” in particular to protect dolphins.
Published on 30/12/2024 22:52
Reading time: 2min
In a new decision Monday December 30, the Council of State confirms “the need for a four-week closure of fishing in the Bay of Biscay during the winter”a measure aimed at protecting dolphins from accidental capture by fishing boats. But David Le Quintrec, a fisherman in Lorient, does not “don’t understand” this decision of the Council of State.
For the president of the French Union of Artisanal Fishermen (Ufpa) solutions exist “to avoid all that” : “We do not understand why fishermen are not heard when there are tangible and concrete solutions to avoid accidental captures.”
While the Council of State emphasizes that scientific observations for the winter period of 2024 had shown “a significant drop in the mortality of small cetaceans due to accidental capture”, David Le Quintrec assures us, “This is all a lie.” According to him, “there is no correlation between the number of strandings and fishing effort”. He adds: “It was proven by A+B that the data from the Pelagis observatory was entirely erroneous and false”. “For us, the Council of State was fooled with Pelagis”he adds. As a reminder, the Pelagis observatory coordinates the national stranding network.
The fisherman is particularly concerned about the economic consequences that this decision may have for fishermen. He claims that in 2024 “the State did not compensate 100%” professionals in the sector “and this year we have no idea how we will be compensated since the European Commission has not yet taken action on this subject.”
“There is no longer any dialogue with our professional structures”regrets the fisherman. “There is no information meeting, we have no information. There is no desire for us to be listened to,” he concludes.
Following several appeals from environmental and animal rights NGOs, the Council of State had already forced France to close the Bay of Biscay to fishing for all vessels over eight meters from January 22 to February 20 2024. A measure to be renewed in 2025 and 2026.
