overfishing remains a practice that is still too developed in France, according to Ifremer

Even if sustainable fishing is progressing, 20% of the 347,000 tonnes of fish landed in French ports in 2022 come from overfishing.

Overfishing is excessive fishing, which slows down the renewal of fish populations. Among the species affected, the Ifremer report, published Wednesday February 13, lists mackerel, in the Atlantic and even sardines, in the Bay of Biscay. Some 2% of catches also concern so-called collapsed species. In this case, these are pollack in the North Sea and hake in the Mediterranean.

The latter is also the maritime coastline most affected by overfishing. The volume of fish landed in ports remains stable, but only 36% comes from populations in good condition or recovering, such as the famous bluefin tuna. On the other hand, the figures are better for the North Sea and the Channel thanks in particular to the good state of the herring and scallop populations. It should nevertheless be noted as a limitation to this observation that Ifremer does not monitor certain species, such as octopus or gilthead sea bream.

Efforts to protect fish stocks are bearing fruit

Over the last 20 years, the situation has generally improved. If we therefore count 20% overfishing, 56% of fish volumes are taken from populations in good condition or which can be rebuilt. This is called sustainable fishing. If we compare with the year 2000, it is much better since this sustainable fishing then represented only 18% of catches. However, we are still far from the objective that the European Union has set for itself, that is to say, achieving 100% sustainable fishing.

To achieve this, more restrictive policies are needed, according to Ifremer. We also have to deal with global warming, which has disastrous consequences on the hatching of eggs and the survival of certain fish.