The European Union “will not impose” a ban on bottom fishing in marine protected areas

French fishermen will be able to continue to practice bottom fishing. No ban on the use of bottom trawling will be imposed in marine protected areas by the European Union on its Member States, announced on Sunday April 2, the Secretary of State for the Sea, Hervé Berville. European Commissioner for Environment and Fisheries Virginijus Sinkevicius “confirmed that it will not impose a ban on bottom gear in marine protected areas, neither in 2024 nor in 2030”said Hervé Berville, quoted in a press release.

In February, the European Commission presented an action plan aimed at “greening” the fisheries sector and “phasing out” bottom trawling in marine protected areas. Hervé Berville met the European Commissioner in Brussels on Sunday, accompanied by representatives of French fishermen who are deeply concerned about the future of their industry at the prospect of such a measure, believing that they have already made significant efforts to preserve biodiversity and marine ecosystems. .

The action plan for sustainable fisheries presented by the Commission “only offers guidance to member states” recalled the Commissioner quoted by the French Secretary of State, emphasizing that “France will therefore not be forced to take prohibition measures”. In a letter addressed to all the fishermen of France on Friday, the Secretary of State had welcomed the efforts they have been making for several years in favor of a “constraining and demanding management” fishery resources. “More than half” of fish stocks are sustainably exploited today in France against “11% only” twenty years ago, he noted.