They will have to stay at the dock again for a month. The Council of State confirmed a renewal of the closure of fishing in the Bay of Biscay, from January 22 to February 20, with the aim of reducing accidental catches of dolphins by fishing boats.
The Council of State had already decided in favor of this winter moratorium in December 2023 after being urgently contacted by several environmental defense associations, including France Nature Environnement (FNE) and Sea Sheperd France. In its new decision, the Council of State confirms “the need for a fishing closure” to protect dolphins and the harbor porpoise in this area, stressing that scientific observations for the 2024 winter period had shown “a significant decline mortality of small cetaceans by accidental capture.
The number of accidental catches divided by four
According to data from the Pelagis Observatory (CNRS/University of La Rochelle), 1,450 common dolphins died by accidental capture between December 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024 on the Atlantic coast and the Western Channel, compared to 6,100 on average between 2017. and 2023. Ciem, a leading scientific body, estimates the threshold at 4,900 accidental captures. from which the cetacean population is endangered.
Among the dolphins stranded last winter, only 29% showed traces of fishing gear during the closed period, compared to more than 50% the rest of the time. This “apparent capture rate could have reached more than 90% during previous winter months (such as in January 2021), and since 2016 has fluctuated rather between 50 and 80%”, underline the Pelagis scientists in their report.
“The fishermen will not be able to do anything for thirty days”
The closure does not concern all fishing boats, but vessels over 8 meters “which use so-called risk gear, in particular pelagic trawls, nets, and have been added this year pelagic seines (rotating nets). )” specifies Serge Larzabal, first vice-president of the national committee for maritime fisheries and marine farming (CNPMEM). This represents a potential of 400 vessels affected by this ban, “even if last year there were only 280 vessels which stopped, since professionals chose to continue fishing with their boats, but in equipping them with other equipment, which was not affected by the ban,” he specifies.
The boats affected by the ban will be equipped with a GPS beacon, “to ensure that they do not leave the points where they have been previously declared,” adds the vice-president of the fisheries committee. “And the fishermen will not be able to do anything during these thirty days,” he continues. The compensation for this judgment is compensation equivalent to 85% of the turnover achieved during the first quarter period, taking into account the average of the quarters of the three previous years. »
A loss of turnover estimated at more than 30 million euros for the sector
However, the feeling that predominates among fishermen is “dejection” assures Serge Larzabal. “What other activity is stopped in this way for a month,” protests the vice-president of the fisheries committee. Fishing is an important economic activity, which is part of the life of our coastlines. The loss in 2024 represented 16.5 million euros for fishermen, and we will start with the same amount in 2025. And I am not talking about the rest of the sector, in particular the auctions, which show between 50% and 80%. % drop in turnover for one month. »
In 2024, this closure of fishing caused the volumes of fish landed in the Bay of Biscay auctions to drop by 47% in the month of February, compared to the same period in 2023, according to the Ministry of Fisheries, which reports a total loss of turnover estimated at more than 30 million euros for the sector, while “almost 18 million euros” were paid in aid public.
Several systems to repel dolphins tested by fishermen
Serge Larzabal also estimates that “this phenomenon of accidental captures of small cetaceans has always existed, but remains within the norm of 1 to 1.5%”, and that “the population of small cetaceans has been maintained despite everything for more than twenty years “. This does not prevent professionals “from working with scientists to implement equipment that would reduce these accidental catches”.
Several systems are already imposed on fishermen. “First there are the means of mitigation, that is to say repellents or pingers, such as acoustic beacons which attach to the net every 500 meters to keep small cetaceans away, then there are means of observation (observers on board at sea or cameras). But there may be other systems to test or implement. We must be given the means to test all possible devices to find those that are suitable. But for that we must be able to continue working. »
“Zero risk does not exist”
Serge Larzabal says he “understands that as soon as we talk about the dolphin, the general public is affected”. “Even professionals are sensitive to it, it never feels good to catch a dolphin in your net, and we are not dolphin slaughterers,” he assures. Unfortunately, particularly due to the proximity of this species to our coasts, it is a phenomenon that we will not be able to eradicate, because zero risk does not exist. »
On the other hand, “we can ensure that we limit these accidental catches. But certainly not by banning fishing, even for a month, especially on the basis of the Pelagis report.” The national fisheries committee says it is in fact “cautious regarding the results communicated” by Pelagis, calling for “an in-depth study of all the factors leading to stranding” and emphasizing that “fishing is not “solely responsible for this phenomenon”. The Ministry of Fisheries for its part estimated, last November, that this closure had “unquestionably” made it possible to protect the dolphins.
The closure of fishing for one month, which concerns all European community vessels working in the Bay of Biscay, could be extended for at least another year, in 2026.
