2023-10-26 07:31:01
To combat accidental captures of dolphins in the Bay of Biscay, the government is introducing a one-month fishing closure, accompanied by numerous exemptions, according to a decree published Thursday in the Official Journal.
This text, which was submitted for public consultation in September, establishes a fishing ban period “from January 22 to February 20 inclusive” for all boats of eight meters or more in the Bay of Biscay, for the years 2024 to 2026.
Numerous exemptions are then introduced.
For the year 2024, vessels “equipped with active technical devices to reduce accidental catches”, such as acoustic repellents or beacons, or “with an active remote electronic observation system made available by the French Office of biodiversity”, that is to say on-board cameras, will be able to continue fishing without interruption.
In the event of a breakdown of the on-board device, the captain of the vessel “completes the current fishing operation” and “must ensure the effective repair of the equipment before any resumption of new fishing operations”.
An exemption may however be granted “for the resumption of fishing activity within a limit of five days if the vessel owner provides proof of immediate impossibility of repair or replacement” of catch reduction devices or cameras .
This decree was eagerly awaited, following a decision in March by the Council of State, which had been contacted by environmental defense NGOs.
The highest French administrative court had ordered the government to close certain fishing zones in the Atlantic, ruling that current measures “do not guarantee a good favorable conservation status of small cetacean species” (dolphins common, bottlenose dolphins and harbor porpoises).
These measures were to be added to the already existing repulsion and surveillance systems.
The Council of State had given the government six months to act, without specifying the exact duration that said space-time closures should have, simply speaking of an “appropriate time”.
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