Economic approach of fishing activity in the tidal part of the

Economic approach of fishing activity in the tidal part
of the Loire, the Gironde and the Adour River: typology of the activity,
economic results and viability of the fishing enterprises.
Caill-Milly N., Castelnaud G. and Couliou J.-R.
© Ifremer
© Ifremer
© Cemagref
• Introduction
An economic survey, partly based on the preliminary analysis of the fishery activity was developped between 2000 and 2002 on the tidal part of three main French rivers
of Loire, Gironde and Adour within the framework of Pecosude. The objective of this European project was to describe on the scale of the Atlantic coast of three
countries (France, Spain and Portugal) the activity of the small inshore and estuarine fisheries from the fishing point of view, to consider the socio-economic importance
compared to the other types of fisheries, to obtain first results on the relation between the fishing activity and the economy of the drainage basin.
The methodology was elaborated by a working group including economists, fishery scientists and geographers from the laboratories involved.
• Context and method
SKIPPERS
FISHING BOATS
The collected data concerned :
Stratified sample
Loire
Numbers of skippers
220
200
- Fisheries
Fishing gears, species, fishing periods, localization of the catches
Loire*
Gironde
- Socio-economy
Age, origin, training, pluriactivity, turnover, charges,
production factors,…
Inquieries on 10 %
of the basic population
Numbers of vessels
370
200
Gironde
Comparaison with
other data sources:
CRTS, CSP, Cemagref,
Ifremer
150
150
- Marketing
Owned equipments, destinations of the sales,…
Harmonized questionnaire
Adour
Adour
0
100 km
Marine fishermen
Marine fishermen vessels
River fishermen
River fishermen vessels
Semi-directing interviews
* This level is the lower data, particularly for the river
fishermen vessels, because the collected data about
the Loire estuary vessels is not complete.
Around sixty indicators were built in order to estimate the production
factors and their costs, the economic performance of the enterprises
(including the repercussions on the production factors) and the conditions
of the first sale.
• Main results
• Determination of groups of estuarine vessels with close behaviors in terms of fishing gears, species, fishermen status, even of
activity level: 5 groups for Loire, 3 groups for Gironde, 2 groups for Adour.
The catches are realized by very polyvalent units (essentially several types of nets, trawl net, traps, pots).
The results presented below concern the units mainly working in the tidal part.
• Professionnal activity is caracterized by a pluriactivity increasing from downstream to upstream. Apart sea fishing, the others
activities listed are mainly agriculture and services.
Estuary
Pourcentage of pluriactive marine fishermen
Pourcentage of pluriactive river fishermen
Gironde
10 %
40 %
Adour
48 %
90 %
• Turnover realized inside the estuary in 2000
Estuary
Loire
Gironde
Adour
River fishermen
Precise details
26,4 k€
48,9 k€
Per boat
34,3 k€
a vital product for the
considered fishermen
© Ifremer / O. Barbaroux
For the units that only work in the estuary, and according
to the inquieries done, the average percentage of the
turnover coming from this product is
Estuary
Marine fishermen
48,2 k€
Place of the glass eel
22,1 k€
Per entreprise
Marine fishermen
River fishermen
Loire
48%
63%
Gironde
58%
23%
Adour
69%
Not defined
Per entreprise
Not defined
• Main species in value: European eel (juvenile stage), lamprey, shad, meagre, shrimp, European eel (subadulte stage), salmon, sole.
Order depending on the river and the status of the professionnals.
Per estuary, the estimated value of the sale of this alevin is
substantial; it represents more than 60 % of the production.
7000
• Estimated net pay per person on board in 2000
Loire
Gironde
Adour
Marine fishermen
22,5 k€
27,3 k€
21,6 k€
River fishermen
6000
Precise details
Not defined
Per boat
14,0 k€
Per entreprise
Per entreprise
Not defined
• Apparent capital factor productivity (Turnover/Insured vessel value) and labor factor productivity
(Turnover/crewmembers on board)
Capital factor
Labor factor
Remark
From 1,2 to 5,1
From 22 to 46 k€ /person
For some areas and status, high ratios regarding other types of small inshore fisheries
Turnover-glass eel (k€)
Estuary
5000
Marine
fishermen
4000
3000
River
fishermen
2000
1000
0
LOIRE
(data 2000)
GIRONDE
(data 1999)
ADOUR
(data 2000)
NB : catches done in the “Courants landais”included for the Adour river fishermen
• Conclusion
The fishing activity in the tidal part of the three considered estuaries is performed by marine or river fishermen, which are mainly working alone on board, sometimes
with the help of a second sailor. The skipper owns one or more boats, depending on the areas and the fishing periods that can be restricted (glass eel) or on the opposite
diversified. The pluriactivity, that influences the fishing strategies, is limited for the marine fishermen but frequent for the river professionals, in particular on the Adour
River. When they are full-time river fishermen, they only work on the river part and are less dependant on the glass eel than the marine fishermen; other species like shad,
lamprey, European eel (adult stage) or shrimp constituted important catches. These products, unlike glass eel, contribute to the regional gastronomy. They are locally sold
directly to the consumers and restaurants or through the wholesalers, the fishmongers, the large-scale distribution. These distribution networks, that very rarely include
the auction place, make the statistic survey difficult and lead to an under-estimation of the production of the fishing activity in the tidal part of the estuaries. The results
obtained with the socio-economic indicators used in the project Pecosude (in particular the evaluation of the net pay per person) confirmed the viability of the fishing
entreprises considered. It’s particularly the case of the Gironde Estuary, which represents the most important population of fishermen, whose activity is mainly carried
out in the river part and depends little on the sea.
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