Good news from the French government’s fishing watchdog, IFREMER. Fishing has re-opened for scallops for the inshore fleets of Brittany and la Baie de Seine which leads to the estuary of the river Seine and the docks of Le Havre, Rouen and Paris. The French scallop fishery closes in April and stays closed until the shellfish have finished breeding. The good news for the inshore fishermen is that IFREMER estimates that there are 64,000 tonnes of mature, saleable scallops to be caught this season. More good news, this is no flash in the pan: the numbers of young scallops that will mature over the coming year will do more than just replace their predecessors, they will swell the ranks of adult scallops.
This is a ringing endorsement for a fishery protection policy that was unpopular ten years ago, but which can now produce live data to prove its efficacy. It bears witness to the fact that if wild populations are given the space and time they need to recover and breed, there is a future for all concerned. Original documentaation (in French) here.
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