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A dolphin jumps out of the water on the French coast near La Forêt-Fouesnant
Photo: FRED TANNEAU/ AFP
For the first time since the Second World War, a one-month fishing ban to protect dolphins in the Bay of Biscay will take effect in France from Monday.
The French government vowed on Thursday to provide aid to the fishing industry banned from the area on France's west coast, formally extending the ban to vessels of all origins.
France's highest administrative court, the Council of State, originally ordered the ban.
From the Finistère department in the far west of Brittany to the border with Spain, fishing will be almost completely stopped until February 20th.
The ban applies to ships longer than eight meters - around 450 ships are affected in France.
“It’s absurd to stop companies for a month like that.”
The scientific body Ciem, which monitors North Atlantic ecosystems, has been calling for a winter break for some fishing methods for years.
The organization estimates that around 9,000 dolphins die off the French Atlantic coast every year because they are accidentally caught.
French fishermen sharply criticize the month-long protective measure.
"It's absurd to stop companies like this for a month," said fisherman Raymond Millet from the city of La Rochelle to the AFP news agency.
Franck Lalande, owner of two boats in the southwestern town of Arcachon, said the compensation promised by authorities was insufficient.
The fish processing industry estimated its losses due to the ban at more than 60 million euros.