fishermen briefly banned from exercise might be compensated at greater than 80%, announce their minister | EUROtoday

Fishermen pressured to cease their exercise for a month within the Bay of Biscay as a way to defend dolphins will once more be compensated at greater than 80%, introduced Thursday January 9, the Minister of Ecological Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher.

The Minister for Ecological Transition, whose portfolio additionally contains fishing, confirmed the closure of fishing within the Bay of Biscay for all vessels over 8 meters from January 22 to February 20 – a measure already in place final yr following a court docket choice, which might be renewed in 2026.

“We will obviously compensate”she mentioned on the Public Senate channel, saying “20 million euros in envelope mobilized to compensate fishermen and also compensate those downstream of the sector, the people who work behind the fishermen”. This envelope for 2025 is barely greater than that of the earlier yr, which was virtually 19 million euros, meant primarily for fishermen, but additionally for fishmongers, the minister’s workplace was informed.

Testing gadgets to scare away dolphins

“In any case, we secure the means”underlined M^me Pannier-Runacher, noting that in France “fishermen are compensated up to 80 to 85% of their turnover”nicely past the 46% recorded for Spanish fishermen.

At the identical time, tools, together with cameras and repellent gadgets or gadgets meant to scare away dolphins, might be examined, in collaboration “with fishermen and with scientists”For “demonstrate that we are capable (…) to reconcile fishing and the preservation of dolphins”she mentioned once more.

Some 300 French vessels – a determine akin to boats over 8 meters often fishing within the corresponding space – are affected by this month-to-month closure, imposed because of the stranding of quite a few dolphins on the seashores of the Bay of Biscay.

“We divided the variety of stranded dolphins by 4, so it really works. All the work that’s earlier than us, and it should be carried out with nice rigor, is to place in place this tools which can hold the dolphins away from the boats and which can successfully enable the fishermen to proceed their career.”declared the minister.