Will the fishing port of Lorient, the second largest in France, import fish from Oman by cargo plane? The idea, raised in the context of cooperation with the sultanate, has raised the hackles of fishermen and environmentalists, at a sensitive time for French fishing.

"This controversy is a pity, because it is the first time that a French port has been exported in this way," said Maurice Benoish, president of SAS Ker'Oman.

The company has been awarded a joint venture bid to design and manage the port of Duqm in the Arabian Sea, south of the Sultanate of Oman.

When the contract was won at the end of 2020, the news made little noise. Until the arrival of an Omani delegation at the Itechmer trade fair in Lorient this autumn.

The mayor (UDI) of Lorient, Fabrice Loher, welcomed "an opportunity (...) for the import of fish," according to the daily Ouest-France.

Maurice Benoish spoke in the local press of a supply of fresh fish arriving by cargo plane from Oman.

"It was a possible financier who wanted to make an airline to import fish to Lorient," he told AFP, while assuring that the import of fish was not at all the object of the partnership with the sultanate.

"It's about bringing our port know-how," he said, citing shipbuilding and repair, the sale of fishing equipment and training.

"After that, if the fishmongers want it, they will have access to Oman that they have never had until now. Flying is a normal transport for fish today," he said.

However, this transport increases "the carbon footprint of fish by 10 times", denounce environmentalists, who see the partnership with Oman as a "symbol of climate-killing economic development".

"We are sacrificing the fishermen of Lorient by creating a structure that will compete with them. The question is: do we still want a fishing port in Lorient?" said Damien Girard, leader of the left and the ecologists in Lorient.

"Big nonsense!"

For once, fishermen are on the same line as environmentalists.

"It makes no sense to import fish from the Persian Gulf. It's all nonsense!" denounces David Le Quintrec, a fisherman from Lorient.

The sailors are all the more uplifted by the fact that the port of Lorient, which plays a leading role in the partnership with Oman, is chaired by Olivier Le Nézet, who is also the head of the Morbihan and Brittany fisheries committees and the national committee.

"By dint of wearing many hats, he forgets his main role: to defend French fishermen!" fumes Stéphane Pochic, a shipowner in Loctudy (Finistère).

Criticism brushed aside by the person concerned. "It's not Olivier le Nézet who is going to bring fish from Oman!" he says, denouncing "a storm in a teacup".

"We're here to bring skills, period! The rest is literature," he said. Importing fish, "it's a private company choice. I'm not going to decide for a fishmongering business. If they want to do it, it's their choice," adds Olivier le Nézet.

Second for fishing in France, the port of Lorient already imports large quantities of fish, for its fishmongers and processing plants. The port handles 80,000 to 100,000 tonnes of seafood each year, with only 18,109 tonnes of fish landed by fishermen in 2022.

In France, 80% of seafood is imported. However, the air transport and the support of local authorities for SAS Ker'Oman (in the form of repayable advances) have stirred up controversy.

This partnership "is a very important opportunity to promote the skills of the Lorient region in the field of the sea", says Pascal Le Liboux, vice-president of Lorient Agglomération, speaking of a "small repayable advance" that will not cost "the taxpayer a cent".

At the same time, "we are investing massively in the modernisation of the port to ensure a future for Breton fishing", assures the elected official, who promises that "there are no short-term plans to import fish from Oman".

"What will we do in 15 or 20 years? I don't know," he admits, because no one is able to predict "how the resource will evolve."

With AFP

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