The -

Fred Tanneau / AFP

  • A giant trawler was inaugurated this Friday in Concarneau by the France Pélagique shipyard.

  • Environmental associations are rising up against this juggernaut of the seas, which they believe is guilty of destroying resources and jobs.

  • Its owner defends himself by assuring that the activity of

    Scombrus

    is highly regulated. 

It is a real mastodon of the seas which was inaugurated this Friday in Concarneau (Finistère) by the France Pélagique armament.

The

Scombrus

, a fishing vessel 81 meters long and 17 meters wide, has "major innovations" on board.

“We are making a big technological leap with the commissioning of this boat,” said Geoffroy Dhellemmes, son and grandson of shipowners.

"Many tasks are automated on board", detailed the manager, also explaining that the fish was little handled, thus improving its quality.

Important security device deployed at #Concarneau for the baptism of #Scombrus pic.twitter.com/s2Ns3ITUFx

- The Concarneau Telegram (@TLGConcarneau) September 25, 2020

The vessel, which made its first trip in early August, has dual diesel-electric propulsion.

Its maneuverability is thus improved and noise and consumption reduced.

The freezing process has also been improved and in terms of comfort and safety, it is notably equipped with a semi-closed aft deck protecting sailors when the seas are rough.

It also has a gym.

Concerns about resources and jobs

This factory trawler, however, is the subject of strong criticism from certain environmental associations.

France Pélagique "is part of the Dutch industrial fishing lobby and fervently defends fishing methods that are incompatible with the maintenance of resources and jobs", denounces the association Pleine Mer in a press release.

While France Pélagique inaugurates with great fanfare the #Scombrus, a giant trawler of 81 meters which, despite the assertions of the company, can catch 200 tons per day of fish (the same as those targeted by the # small fishing), the artisanal fishermen are abandoned and # ÀPoil pic.twitter.com/bl2lGfVFY2

- BLOOM Association (@Bloom_FR) September 25, 2020

Armament is a subsidiary of the Dutch group Cornelis Vrolijk, a major player in fishing in Europe.

For the Bloom association, it is about "defending small-scale coastal fishing", against "the industrialization of the sector, synonymous with the plundering of marine ecosystems, the grabbing of quotas, contempt for the common good and the disappearance. artisanal fishermen ”.

"A bad trial that we are being made"

"The

Scombrus

can catch 200 tonnes of fish per day on its own, while a boat of less than 12 meters around a few tonnes per year", assures Charles Braine, president of Pleine Mer. Pelagic fishing "is extremely regulated. », Defends Geoffroy Dhellemmes, ensuring that the ship brings back into its entrails 120 tons of fish per day.

"We cannot fish what we want", he insists, referring to the quotas imposed by the European Union.

"It is a bad trial that we are made," said the leader.

According to its owner, the ship brings back 120 tonnes of fish per day into its bowels.

- Fred Tanneau / AFP

"We do not fish the same species, nor in the same waters" as the artisanal fishermen, he explains, stressing that the fish caught by his armament are not favored by French consumers.

His two factory vessels land herring, mackerel, horse mackerel, blue hake and sardines in the Netherlands, after having fished them off Ireland, England, Scotland and in the Gulf of Gascony.

They then leave for Africa, Asia, Japan and Eastern Europe.

Rare accidental catches depending on the weaponry

Regarding accidental catches, the armament ensures that they represent less than 1% of the total fish caught.

Pelagic trawls are notably accused of being responsible for the death of many dolphins.

"We see one from time to time, but it is very rare", assures Denis Thomazeau, second captain of the trawler.

The trawl is equipped with "an exit hatch for large fish," he explains, also noting the use of acoustic devices intended to keep cetaceans and other marine mammals away from the trawls.

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