Bruno Garcia of the Charente-Maritime fishing federation today devotes this meeting on France Bleu la Rochelle to the fight against undesirables. These imported animals and plants that disturb the aquatic ecosystem and impoverish biodiversity.
Can we name the most common?
Bruno Garcia : For plants, we have water primrose, Brazilian watermilfoil, Egeria densa, Canadian waterweed, Lagarosiphon major, etc. and for animals, catfish, various exogenous crayfish such as the Louisiana crayfish, the signal, the American crayfish and the pseudo rasbora better known as the Asian gudgeon.
How are they disruptive to the aquatic environment?
They have an amazing adaptability and reproductive capacity that have the effect of smothering our native species, simply by taking their place. We are going to focus today on the water primrose, which from memory is the first to have monopolized our waterways more than thirty years ago. It is not unpleasant to look at the water primrose, a small round leaf embellished with a pretty little yellow flower, when you don’t know who you are dealing with you cannot guess the scourge it represents. Like everywhere in the department, this Jussie settled on the lake of La Lande a few years ago and today it is rather cumbersome, even “suffocating”. The environment was closing in and not only was the practice of fishing becoming complicated but above all the balance of this 7-hectare body of water, in all its forms, animal and plant, was threatened. It was necessary to react and this is precisely what was done by the volunteers of the fishing association of Saujon, the AAPPMA Seudre Atlantique, at the origin of this approach.
Seven hectares, can we speak of a major operation?
Absolutely ! A first for the department on an area like this with a very significant financial blow since a follow-up is planned over 3 years.
What kind of blow? And with community support?
Over three years, we should approach 100,000 euros, but indeed with financial contributions from the City of Saujon, the Departmental Council, the Departmental Fishing Federation at the rate of 30% and the technical and administrative control entrusted to the River Syndicate of the Seudre.
Concretely, how are things going?
It’s very artisanal as a method. A manual uprooting, some of the workers in the water, the others on a barge, an aluminum boat where the plants are stored and a backhoe loader which comes to recover the Jussie stored in big bags, large bags with a capacity of one m3.
A little word about next weekend?
The fishing party, I couldn’t miss it. The first animations will take place on Sunday, June 05th. I remind you that on the entertainment sectors you are exempt from fishing license. I will address the various proposals in a very superficial way at first, I will go into detail next Saturday. You can enjoy demonstrations and initiations in Matha on the castle basin, in Saujon on the Lande lake, in Rochefort on the Beligon lake, in Aigrefeuille on the Frace lake. and on the quays of Taillebourg where three fishing associations will be waiting for you, the Saint Savinien fly, that of Port d’Envaux and that of Taillebourg.