Spiny Lobster Conservation with Finistère Fisheries and Marine Breeding Committee / Comité des Pêches et des Elevages Marins du Finistère (France)

Ergué-Gabéric, Finistère, Bretagne, France

The organization and local perspectives on conservation and stewardship

The Comité des Peches et des Elevages Marins du Finistère (CDPMEM 29) represents all the fishermen of the department, and is responsible for promoting and representing the interests of fishing professionals with local and departmental authorities. It is also one of the key contacts in terms of economic information on fishing. The majority of our members are artisanal fishermen. The environmental areas we are working on are mainly located on the coastal area where our artisanal fishermen are working. We have a mandate in the sustainable management of resources and we work in close collaboration with the marine reserve area which is on our territory (Parc Naturel Marin d’Iroise).

The sustainable management of our environment and resources is vital to our profession and our territory. Fishermen in our sector have always been very sensitive and proactive on this subject. It is more than a priority for the profession. To manage this area, we work in close collaboration with scientists, the government and the PNMI (Parc Naturel Marin d’Iroise) on these subjects. The sustainable management of access to the resource and its exploitation is based on scientific advice and impact studies. We have many initiatives and projects on the sustainable management of resources (cantonments, hatching, sowing, technical regulations, managing access to the area, licensing systems, establishing quotas …).

Stewardship experience: Spiny lobster (red langouste) stock restoration and sustainable management in Iroise, France

The issue or problem being addressed

The challenge of the program, when it was created, was to restore the spiny lobster (red langouste) stock in Iroise, which had suffered from overfishing.

The conservation/stewardship activities

To respond to this problem, a cantonment zone has been set up by professionals, in the perimeter of the Chaussée (Causeway) de Sein (Finistère, Bretagne France). Several scientific follow-ups have been set up, with the support of IFREMER, and in particular a partnership on this program with the Iroise Marine Park was established. Measures or regulations have been put in place, with minimum catch sizes and good practices (release of grained females, etc.). Once the stock has been replenished, additional measures to manage the exploitation of the resource will be implemented, including the mandatory marking of lobsters to be marketed, in accordance with the regulatory size. Further management measures will be developed for the sustainable exploitation of the stock.

The benefits/impacts including sustainability/environmental effects

The first benefit is of course the recovery of the stock, the establishment of sustainable exploitation and the partnership between local fishermen, CDPMEM 29, scientists and the Marine Park. This example is important and positive, especially in the perimeter of a marine protected area.

Other benefits of this project relate to:

sustainable livelihoods
food security
employment & decent work
capacity development
government policy & decision-making

The success and significance of the activities

This project spread outside the department, and even nationally. It played a large role in the reconstitution of the stock and in the establishment of compulsory tagging of spiny lobster to be marketed. This program also participates in the responsible acquisition of local knowledge and in integrating the project at the supra-regional level. It values the knowledge of fishermen who participate in management but also in the process through which this knowledge is obtained and used. The scientific study of spiny lobster populations is done with the marine park at a local level but also at national and European levels. This program strongly demonstrates that fishing has its place within the perimeter of a marine protected area and that sustainable fishing is compatible with conservation issues.

Some lessons learned or words of wisdom

The initiative is a fishermens’ initiative. This group of fishermen was strong enough to make sacrifices to put the small cantonment (reserve) in place. The collaboration with scientists and the administration (Marine Park), has made it possible to enhance and set up a sustainable activity compatible with conservation objectives. The idea is to more highly value the knowledge of fishermen and to find the support of administration and government to put in place a system to have sustainable management of the resources to preserve ecosystem services and also to ensure a sustainable fishery.

It is noted that the CDPMEM 29 and the fishermen of Finistère are partners of the marine protected area, in particular with the partner program, The Programme Langouste Rouge Reconquête. For additional information, view:

https://www.comitedespeches-finistere.fr/nos-projets/programme-langouste-rouge-reconquete

https://www.comitedespeches-finistere.fr/