Fishing companies “will be compensated for their losses” and it is planned to support “the entire downstream sector”, in particular fish traders, during the unprecedented month without fishing in the Bay of Biscay to protect dolphins, announced the Thursday the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
From Monday until February 20 inclusive, following a decision by the Council of State, fishing in the Bay of Biscay will be prohibited for all vessels of eight meters or more equipped with certain types of nets, a measure intended to prevent dolphins and porpoises are captured. accidentally captured. The ban, the ministry emphasizes in a press release, applies to all affected vessels operating in the area, “with French and foreign flags.”
In France, more than 450 ships are affected and losses are estimated at tens of millions of euros. Fish traders who process fresh fish landed at the markets estimate their losses at more than 60 million euros.
Four weeks of closure
Considering the exemptions planned by the Government too important, the Council of State, summoned in a summary procedure by the nature defense associations, suspended them in December, de facto closing the Bay of Biscay to most of the fleet for four weeks in winter. The government announced Thursday that it will “expand and strengthen compensation conditions for fishermen.”
“Fishing companies will be compensated for their losses and France has notified a maximum aid system possible thanks to the European framework,” he says. The Government “will also support, in addition to the support of the Regions, the entire downstream and marketing sector, with the activation, if necessary, of partial unemployment measures and specific aid adapted to different situations.”
Source: BFM TV
