Le Figaro Nantes
The anger has not subsided.
Last Wednesday, the publication of a map by the State, in the middle of a public debate, on areas suitable for the development of offshore wind power triggered the fury of elected officials in Vendée.
Both in substance and in form.
Politicians had been invited 36 hours before to a meeting confirming their fears of seeing a new park installed in their department, visible from the coast.
Less than a week later, it was the turn of local fishermen to express their
“indignation”
.
In a press release published Tuesday, the Regional Fisheries Committee of Pays de la Loire (Corepem)
“would like to thank the elected officials who are mobilizing to make the coastal voice heard in the planning of offshore wind power”
.
And wishes
to “alert the public authorities”
.
Also read: Michel Bernard: “Turning in the wind of ideology and propaganda, the wind turbines are running out of steam”
Disappearance of fishing zones
“We were shown this map more or less a year ago. We were committed to providing data to make it evolve
,” indicates to Le
Figaro
José Jouneau, the president of Corepem, contacted by telephone.
Except that he assures that the fishermen of the Bay of Biscay had suggested more floating wind power, allowing the masts to be located further from the coast.
“80% of vessels are less than 12 m”: this
means that due to their size, professionals fish mainly on the coastal strip, where new parks could be established or extended.
It is therefore a cry of alarm that is being sounded:
“if we add up the inconvenience caused by wind power, plus the strong protection zones [of species], we are heading towards fishing zones which are taken away from us gradually
,” summarizes the regional manager, having just come out of a month of forced fishing cessation to preserve the dolphins.
“We wonder if one activity is not replacing another
,” he worries.
In other words, for the wind industry to replace that of fishing...
"We are going to be self-sufficient [energy] but we will bring our fish from elsewhere"
, he anticipates, emphasizing this
"fear to see oneself disappear
.
Also read “Are we the troublesome species?”
Exhausted by a month of forced shutdown, the fishermen have finally returned to sea
Reduction in the number of fishermen
On a personal level, since he started in 1977, José Jouneau, originally from Sables-d'Olonne, has seen the fleet melt away:
"where there were 100 boats, today there are 30 left"
(on the scale of the Bay of Biscay).
Since he chaired the Pays de la Loire Regional Fisheries Committee,
“we have gone from 1,800 sailors on board to 900”
.
“I have the impression that the State is disengaging from the French fishing fleet, despite the money injected to implement these public policies
,” he laments, before adding:
“the money is being put in the wrong place
.
Currently, a park has already been launched off the coast of Saint-Nazaire and a second must be put into service in 2025 near the islands of Yeu and Noirmoutier.
“We have no feedback on the experience of the first park released in Saint-Nazaire and we are already talking about establishing the equivalent of 20 times this first park by 2050, right in the middle of the historic fishing zones practiced by sailors for over 100 years.
Receiving these maps while we were in the process of finalizing those concerning the Important Areas for Fishing, we experience this as a real affront
,” regrets José Jouneau, evoking a
“denial of democracy”
behind the so-called debate. in progress on the subject.
“The public debate is only a first step and will subsequently lead to the identification of areas favorable to the development of offshore wind power at the end of September 2024 and the updating of the façade strategic document. during the first half of 2025
,” defended the maritime prefect of the Atlantic and the Pays de la Loire region on Friday, in a press release aimed at putting out the fire.
While the scope of this text seems limited, fishermen are thinking of other actions to make themselves heard.
“We are going to gradually boycott the local nautical commissions”
, linked to the construction of parks, cites José Jouneau as an example.
Or disobey imposed quotas.
Without forgetting the Vendée Globe which is coming.
“I saw the first edition.
It was a great celebration of the sea. Today, it has become a race for sponsors and a media riot.
Why would we let 40 high-profile skippers leave while we stay on the edge of the quay?”
Ultimately, it is a broader reflection on society that haunts the president of the Pays de la Loire Regional Committee.
The advent of a society, certainly self-sufficient thanks to the proliferation of wind turbines, but to the detriment of traditional ports, auctions, and tasty dishes based on fresh fish.