Administrative investigation opened after a slaughter of fish in the Bay of Biscay
A gigantic school of dead fish, near the coast of La Rochelle, photographed on February 4 by Sea Shepherd.
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The NGO Sea Shepherd has implicated a fishing vessel after the discovery of thousands of dead fish in the Bay of Biscay.
The Minister of the Sea has requested the opening of an administrative investigation.
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The NGO Sea Shepherd France, which has posted photographs of dead fish floating on the surface of the Atlantic Ocean on social networks, estimates that "
more than
100,000
" fish "
have been thrown into the sea
" 300 km from La Rochelle, by the
Margiris
, one of the largest fishing vessels in the world, 143 meters long.
The Minister of the Sea Annick Girardin announced on Friday that she had requested the opening of an administrative investigation.
"
The shipowner recognized an accident on board, it was a net that dropped
," explained the minister, adding that "
the accident
" had been declared in the logbook.
"
An accident
"
“
We were interested in this vessel because it is the second largest trawler in the world.
So, when we saw that he was arriving in the Bay of Biscay, we thought it would be interesting to go and film his fishing operations,
reports
the president of Sea Shepherd France, Lamya Essemlali.
Today, he admits that he is the one responsible for the rejection.
He claims the accident.
You should know that we have shown little interest in the "Margiris" ship so far.
But three years ago, we also filmed in the Bay of Biscay, the "Annie Hillina" which is a German factory ship, and the same, thousands of dead fish in its wake.
So, in as few operations as we have carried out, we have already had two such events, so that suggests that it is quite frequent.
»
blue whiting
According to the NGO, the fish rejected were blue whiting, usually intended to make surimi.
“
Regulations
, specifies Sea Sheperd,
prohibit discards of so-called by-catch.
Normally, the shipowner is obliged to return to the quay, disembark at the quay and declare his catches.
This costs him time, fuel and therefore money.
In the end, there is a great temptation to release all this into the sea and stay in the fishing grounds, and continue to fish.
»
►
To read also: Iceland plans to stop whaling from 2024
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Agriculture and Fishing
Environment