Fishermen unhappy with the government’s “energy transition plan”

The Secretary of State for the Sea, Hervé Berville, announced, Friday September 22, a “energy transition plan” to adapt very fuel-intensive fishing vessels, with, “as long as prices are high”, a reduction of 13 cents per liter financed by TotalEnergies. But the fishermen, meeting since Thursday in Nice for their annual meetings, are demanding more public aid after the government confirmed the end of the 20 cent aid on October 15, while fish prices are historically low.

Even before the end of Mr. Berville’s speech, who did not specify the timetable for implementing this measure, the fishermen left the room in silence, the president of the National Fisheries Committee, Olivier Le Nezet, estimating that “the account is not there”.

At the podium, where the profession had denounced the day before the “disengagement” of the State, Mr. Berville detailed this “fleet energy transition plan which must be a true public-private partnership with three pillars” : THE “greening maritime fuel”there “reducing the dependence of our ships on oil” And “adapting port infrastructure”.

“On the first point, we have been working for several months on greening maritime fuel. With the CEO of the TotalEnergies group, we agreed that peach diesel would be greener by incorporating a significant portion of biofuel”he clarified.

” Disappointment “

According to the minister’s office, the energy company ensures “two thirds of the sale of marine fuel” in France, and the biofuel which must be incorporated at 7.5% is ” available “. This addition “does not require engine adaptation” ships, but “requires investment in stations”we specified from the same source.

For fishermen, who were waiting for a quick response to the “cataclysm” experienced by the sector due to the cost of fuel, it is ” disappointment “. “We will have to explain ourselves to the minister and, above all, he will have to explain his plan to us, which today is not one. The 13 cents will not allow businesses to continue their activity”declared Olivier Le Nezet to the press.

Tension had risen in recent days, after Mr. Berville’s confirmation of the end of cash flow aid of 20 cents (excluding tax) per liter of diesel. The measures, renewed several times for a total amount of 75 million euros, were taken in March 2022 to help fishermen cope with the surge in the price of diesel after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On Thursday, fishermen denounced the ” treason “ of the government.

The president of the national committee described a sector “who is at stake for his survival”, caught between the historically low price of fish and the price of diesel. He called on the Secretary of State to “assume a cataclysm which will be the end of the French fishing industry”.

Aging weapons

At the podium on Friday, Hervé Berville got annoyed: “Everyone was perfectly aware that the 20 cent fuel aid would stop on October 15, due to European rules which was a temporary framework. » Considering it crucial to initiate the transition of the sector, he added that ” the government [faisait] today the choice to direct 450 million euros from the wind tax over the next ten years. Planning at sea will allow us to achieve this objective”.

“To be very concrete, these 450 million will allow investments in engines, hulls and even fishing gear. In this plan, you will need to determine territory by territory, fleet segment by fleet segment, priority investments”he explained.

The French fleet, third in the European Union behind Spain and Denmark with some 6,500 ships, has shrunk by more than a quarter in twenty years. Its weapons are aging, like its sailors, almost half of whom will retire within five to ten years.

The succession of crises has further weakened it: at least 90 ships (including 45 in Brittany) should be scrapped as part of a “individual support plan” post-Brexit, intended for fishermen who no longer have access to British waters.