Scallop populations have never been so healthy in France for 60 years. According to the latest evaluation of theFrench Research Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea (Ifremer), compared to last year (which was already a record year), the stocks of scallops in the Manche have increased in biomass: +31%, in the Bay of Seine and +13% in the Bay of Saint -Brieuc. And this, despite the heat of this summer which has however reduced the production of phytoplankton on which the shells feed, and which has therefore led to a slight delay in their growth.
These scallop abundance records are primarily explained by the scallop which is at ease in the English Channel, even with a slight increase in temperature. But, above all, this can be explained by the success of a fisheries framework policy. France has indeed chosen to authorize this scallop fishing only very seasonally from October 1 to May 31 (and with additional local restrictions). This four-month break allows the shellfish to grow and reproduce more easily in the summer.
Moreover, concerning fishing equipment, our country also imposes the use of dredges, rings that rake the ground, wider than in Great Britain – 10cm in diameter for us against 8.5 for our British neighbors, which allows the smaller shells to remain at the bottom of the water.
“On the French side, there is a scallop every square meter on averagerejoices Eric Foucher, researcher at Ifremer, whereas there is only one every 100 m² on the British coast”. 100 times less then. But in Great Britain, the rules are not at all the same since fishing is possible 365 days a year.
This is not the first time that the positive effects of the application of fishing restrictions in France have been measured. Thanks to the quotas, the fish are also doing better: 60% of the fish caught in France now come from populations whose stocks are in good condition. It’s much better than 20 years ago.