Louise Sallé 06h53, May 02, 2022

If we only ate locally caught fish, supermarket shelves would be empty from… May 2!

This day of "fish addiction" is calculated every year and occurs earlier and earlier.

66% of seafood products consumed in France are of foreign origin, in a market that is growing by around 2% per year.

If the French only ate fish caught locally since January 1, we wouldn't find it anywhere from… May 2!

This "fish addiction" day, calculated by the NGO Aquaculture Stewardship Council, falls earlier and earlier each year - it came eleven days later, ten years ago.

It illustrates our dependence on imports for seafood products.

Despite the fact that France is bordered by coasts, two thirds of the fish we eat are of foreign origin.

This is particularly due to the fact that salmon, tuna and shrimp are increasingly appreciated by the French.

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In any case, this is explained by Stéphan Beaucher, consultant in public fisheries management policies.

"Smoked salmon has become a very fashionable product, it has become enormously democratized over the past four decades," he says.

"There is a craze in terms of non-fat protein and omega 3 needs, acclaimed by the women's press and slimming diets", continues Stéphan Beaucher. 

"So today we consume 34 kilos of seafood per head. However, France is a small producing country. We only produce a quarter of that. So demand is growing on a market that is already out of balance,” he warns.

France, a small fish-producing country

These "fashionable" species come from aquaculture farms, a sector in which France is not efficient, for reasons of sharing coastal areas.

But for the rest of the fish, the country is also lagging behind, for climatic and stock management reasons. 

"Denmark and the United Kingdom are countries where the waters are cold," says Stéphan Beaucher.

"And the colder the waters, the more fish there are."

"On the other hand, it turns out that the two countries in the world that best manage their cod stocks are Iceland and Norway", he continues, taking as an example one of the most consumed wild fish. .

"However, these countries have been managing their cod stocks since the 19th century. In France, on the other hand, it is very, very recent. It appeared with the common fisheries policy, thirty years ago", summarizes the consultant. 

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Local fish is certainly to be preferred, given that its fishing is often more respectful of the environment because the CO2 emissions, linked to its transport, are reduced.

But, foreign or not, seafood products should be consumed in moderation.

Their stocks are indeed limited and should not be abused to allow ecosystems to regenerate naturally.