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Small-scale coastal fishing using boats Moreover, the fleet often suffers from poorly
which are less than twelve metres long and adapted legislation, red tape and overly res- THE ROLE OF
which do not use a towed gear represent 70 trictive standards and policies, whether they
to 80% of European fishing fleet. However it be European or governmental, of training or RESTAURANT
has been excluded for several decades by of information, tend to forget about them.
the Common Fisheries Policy. OWNERS
But all hope is not lost. A series of measures
A tradition in the Mediterranean since an- common to Europe aim to promote artisa- Restaurant owners are also asking for
cient times, this fishing sector is part of a nal fishing and allocate development possi- strong and healthy artisanal fishing. Two
cultural heritage and a non-aggressive bilities to environmental and social criteria. of them - Jean-Pierre Rous who promotes
economic activity for biodiversity and the Slow Food and José Orsini, chef and owner
environment, provided that it is managed of Bistrot du Port in Nice - have spoken
correctly. It helps manage resources local- about the need to pass on this culture of
ly, not far from the ports where the fishers SAVING ARTISANAL eating well to the younger generations and
are working, whilst limiting impacts related change how customers view food to under-
to transport by using short channels to sell FISHING line the importance of quality.
the fish.
Initially, we must avoid losing tangible and In their eyes, the first rule is to respect pro-
intangible heritage (boats, traditional fi- duct seasonality. The second, thanks to
A SECTOR IN CRISIS shing techniques, recipes, stories, local their expert advice, is to agree to try ‘for-
gotten’ fish. This stops fishers from over-
knowledge) and include fishers in commer-
cial sectors and local development pro- looking lesser requested species.
Economically, small-scale fishing creates cesses.
three jobs on land for one job at sea. Howe-
ver it is a sector in crisis, particularly in the With appropriate reinforcement of skills, fi-
Mediterranean where fauna, flora and biodi- nancial support and infrastructure, renewal
versity are highly affected by the excessive of professional profiles, sectors and orga-
behaviour of industrial, illegal or non-com- nisational structures, and adapted policies,
mercial fishing which sometimes destroys small-scale fishing could effectively contri-
marine habitats, overuses marine resources bute to more sustainable and balanced
and creates pollution. This alarming situa- development of coastal Mediterranean
tion is a threat to food safety, means of regions. The European Commission’s Me-
survival, the biological diversity of marine dFish4Ever action plan, which has aimed to
ecosystems and the culture of coastal com- protect vulnerable zones and collectively li-
munities. mit fishing efforts since 2003, is an example
of the political change needed to guarantee
Artisanal fishing is not doing well. Its fleet sustainable Mediterranean fishing.
and population are ageing and are not being
replaced frequently enough. The average The creation of LIFE (Low Impact Fishers
age of its boats is 28 and their numbers are of Europe) is also an example of this. To do this, direct links have to be reinforced
dwindling. Even though its global revenue Launched in 2012, LIFE is a platform which between fishers and restaurant owners and
of €630 million per year is increasing, the aims to place small-scale fishers back at there must be a negotiation of standards
sector is constantly losing jobs (fewer than the forefront of policy so that they become which are deemed overly restrictive.
20,000 in recent years), as young people decision-makers in Europe and a stakehol-
are not attracted by falling returns in a sec- der in negotiations, whilst encouraging
tor which is failing to modernise. good professional practices. LIFE includes
10,000 artisanal and responsible fishers, of-
ten from family businesses, from 16 coun-
tries from the Baltic to the Mediterranean.