It was on the edge of the Dangeau pond (Eure-et-Loir) that Jean-Luc Quernec started fishing, thanks to his father who made him a reed rod. Six decades later, here he is, at the age of 72, boss of the 13,000 licensees of the French sports fishing federation (FFPS). He succeeds Jacques Goupil from Chartres, who has been president since 2016. A logical continuation for the man who has been involved in sport fishing since 1992 and who has held, during the last two mandates, the position of president of the national “water” delegation. gentle” at the FFPS. “I was made to understand that there was only one to take the presidency and that it was me,” admits the new president.
Very close to the world of competition, the one who notably led the organization of the coarse fishing world championships in Rieux (Morbihan), Gravelines (Nord), Toul (Meurthe-et-Moselle) or Béthune (Pas-de- Calais) expects more bureaucracy in his new position. “Until now I was involved in action, organizing and monitoring competitions. There, we will be much more administrative. The ministries do not make much difference between small and large federations. We have the same documents, even though we are 100% amateurs and 100% volunteers,” notes the manager.
Professionalizing the federation is one of its objectives, “so that the day I stop, the position will not be scary,” insists the retiree. “It’s five to six hours of work a day. If we continue, we will not be able to modernize fishing and rejuvenate the federation's executives. »
To modernize sport fishing, Jean-Luc Quernec will be able to count on the 10 women (out of 21 members) who make up his steering committee. The parity imposed by law opened the door to these new officials. “There are less than 10% of female licensees, this is necessarily a constraint. But I didn't just want names on a piece of paper, I wanted them all to be involved in fishing and to come from the five fishing techniques concerned by the federation. And the challenge is successful,” rejoices the Dunois.
The fishermen's boss's last wish is to see the ranks of competitors grow through the new generation. “We have registered 1,300 licenses for young people under the age of 18 coming from recreational fishing, that’s 10% of our workforce,” underlines this competitor. An ambitious program which should leave little time for Jean-Luc Quernec, who likes to fish at the La Dunoise lake in Douy (Eure-et-Loir), or on the banks of the Loir at the Bois des Gâts in Châteaudun (Eure-et-Loir). Fishing, rarely alone, which will now allow us to know if the new president is the best of the fishermen present.
