Case study Saint Brieuc
The Great Atlantic scallop fishery of the Saint-Brieuc Bay and its governance (France)
Presentation and history
The Great Atlantic scallop (Pecten maximus) is an emblem of the Bay of Saint-Brieuc where it is nicknamed “white gold” (Figure 1). It is a bivalve found on loose sandy bottoms, generally between 20 and 50 meters depth, and is present in European temperate waters from the Norwegian coastline to northern Spain (Ifremer, 2010).
Figure 1 : The Great Atlantic scallop (Source: Agrocampus Ouest).
The Great Atlantic scallop (also referred to as “scallop” in text) is the fourth commercial species in France in terms of value and represents a turnover of 40 million euros (FranceAgriMer, 2013). Its exploitation is subject to a strictly regulated fishery, the aim of which is to preserve the stock to maintain this fishery. In the Côtes d’Armor, scallop fishing is a major activity. Indeed, it is the department where the largest deposit in France is located, with about 150 000 ha (Figure 2). Three distinct zones are exploited in the Saint-Brieuc Bay, the main deposit called "of the Bay", the offshore deposit and the Nerput deposit. In this area, scallop exploitation has truly restarted after the decline of the stock of clams in the early 1960s, with the rediscovery of the deposit.
Figure 2 : Delimitation of the Great Atlantic scallop deposits in the Bay of Saint-Brieuc (source : CAD 22, 2013)
The fishing takes place on a deposit that experiences high interannual variability (Laubier et al., 2003). Hence, a scientific monitoring by Ifremer has been set up to better understand the stock and adjust fishing effort to the available resource. In addition to this is a regulatory framework, originally established by the professionals, which includes a licensing system to control access to the resource. This fishery is seasonal (approximately from October to April ) so as not to disrupt reproduction, and involves 255 ships for the 2013-2014 campaign. 5 710 tonnes were landed during the 2012-2013 campaign, mainly in the Côtes d’Armor fish markets of Erquy, Saint-Quay Portrieux and Loguivy, generating 10.9 million euros (CAD22, 2013). Ships gather scallops using fishing dredges, the characteristics of which are determined by local regulations (a maximum two dredges on board). Scallops represent the bulk of their annual turnover (up to 40 %), but they often exercise another trade (shellfish dredges, trawls, nets or longlines, crustacean pots) when the season is over (Macher et al., 2011).
Figure 3 : The port of Saint-Quay-Portrieux and its dredgers (Source: Agrocampus Ouest). Figure 4 : The port of Paimpol and its dredgers (Source: Agrocampus Ouest).
