We knew the basket of organic vegetables from AMAP (associations for the maintenance of peasant agriculture); minus the fish trap. Since 2015, the Poiscaille platform has been selling 100% French fish and shellfish directly from the water. “The short circuit of seafood”, as the site likes to call itself, guarantees freshness, traceability and sustainable fishing.
Concretely, the subscribed customers select on the platform a surprise box (one kilo of fish or two kilos of shellfish, or a mixture, according to the arrivals), that is to say a meal for two to three people. The weekly formulas (19.90 euros per locker), per fortnight (22.90 euros) or per month (24.90 euros) – the amount varies according to the frequency, not the quantities -, are without commitment and flexible.
To ensure a maximum period of forty-eight hours between fishing and delivery to the consumer, Poiscaille works directly, and with fishermen with sustainable practices, leaving “By the day, with small boats of less than 12 meters, with a maximum of three sailors on board”, details Charles Guirriec, agro-fisheries engineer by training and co-founder of Poiscaille. Fishing techniques must be “gentle”: no trawl or dredge that scrapes the seabed. The catches are caught by line, trap, straight net for fish, diving or shore fishing for shellfish.
Since its launch, the start-up (25 people) has brought together a network of 180 artisanal fishermen from all over France, who, in return for their best practices, are sure to sell their products throughout the year, and at a price 20% higher than at auction. Because in the traps of the sea we find, depending on the catch of the day, known and noble species (line bluefin tuna, turbot, lobster …), but also “forgotten” fish, such as pout, horse mackerel or old , almost absent from fishmongers’ stalls, while they are abundant in French waters.
Fight against overfishing and waste
“These fish are often neglected because they are poorly known and poorly paid to fishermen. They are, moreover, fragile and difficult to preserve, because their flesh is quickly damaged. However, in a traditional circuit, the trawlers go out to sea for several days and store the freshly caught fish in ice. They also use large nets, which break them ”, underlines Charles Guirriec. The model championed by Poiscaille makes it possible to limit waste, preserve the stock of the most popular wild species and fight against overfishing.
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