Meet the fishers

Meet the South Brittany sardine purse seine fishers

South Brittany sardine purse seine fishery was awarded the MSC certification as a sustainable and well-managed fishery in August 2010. It was the second French fishery to achieve MSC certification.

The 21 member boats of the Association des Bolincheurs de Bretagne (Association of Purse Seine Fishers in Brittany) and holders of a purse seiner license are now able to affix the blue MSC ecolabel to their catches.

The purse seine is a large "sliding" fishing net used since the beginning of the 20th century in Brittany. Drawn from the boat, the purse seine net is usually several hundred meters long and is used to encircle a school of fish once it has been located. Along the bottom of the purse seine net are a number of rings. A rope passes through all the rings, and when pulled, draws the rings close to one another turning the net into a "purse" and preventing the fish from swimming down.  The net is then brought alongside the boat little by little. The fish captured alive is then transferred to the boat thanks to "landing nets" known as salabardes in Brittany.The sardine fishing season runs from May to October, with around 90% of catches taken during this period. In 2009, the association’s annual catches were estimated to be around 20,000 metric tonnes.

"We are delighted to be joining the family of MSC-certified fisheries. It was important for us to prove the sustainability of our fishing practices by means of an independent evaluation and this international recognition is a reward for our association, which independently manages our fishery. Sardine fishing is not actually governed by a quota system and we have implemented our own license system to improve our resource management. The MSC certification is part of our plan to continue to pursue this voluntary responsible approach alongside our management systems"

Didier Le Gloanec, president of the Association des Bolincheurs de Bretagne.