"We are still far from 100% sustainable fishing" : the Institut de la mer draws up its annual report on fishing in France

After significantly improving from 2000s, healthy fish stock remains around 50%, report says from Ifremerthe Institut de la mer. Specifically, it is 51% for species in good condition or in a situation to recover, in particular scallops, hake and bluefin tuna in the Atlantic Mediterranean.

However, a quarter of species remain in the red zone, between overfishing and population collapse. This is a slight improvement over the previous year. The sardine, for example, went from the “collapsed” category to that of “overfished”. But two species remain in a situation of collapse: these are cod in the North Sea and the Celtic Sea and hake in the Gulf of Lions.

This is a mixed picture because the objective of “100% sustainable fishing” is not reached explains Alain Biseau, fisheries biologist at Ifremer. “We are still quite far from the 100% that the common fisheries policy wanted. That was the objective for 2020, but we are not there. the idea that we can achieve this goal in the near future.” In France, 300 species are landed from boats every day.

Dredge fishing destroys the seabed

Ifremer has also studied the impact of huge fishing nets that dredge the seabed. Today, this method of fishing represents 28% of the activity and a third of the volumes of fish that are caught. These huge machines scrape the bottom and can therefore destroy or damage the habitats of crabs, starfish and sea urchins. They have an important place in the economy of the sea.

According to Ifremer, on average these nets are used one to five times a year on the continental shelf. But with big differences. This bottom fishing, for example, can be done 10 times a year in the north of the Bay of Biscay with langoustine fishing. Finally, the report indicates that marine protected areas, the preferred tool in France for protecting ecosystems, have no significant impact. “These areas only play a marginal role in protecting the seabed. Only 1% of these marine areas have strong protection rules.” I‘Ifremer pleads for a compromise in the delicate subject of fishing methods. The European Union has already refused to ban the demersal seine.