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| Facing Vote on European Subsidies, Fishermen Cling to Way of Life | Facing Vote on European Subsidies, Fishermen Cling to Way of Life |
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| COMBRIT, France — In a world of giant trawlers and fish-farming operations, Gwenaël Pennarun still sets out most days from this Breton village to catch sea bass the old-fashioned way, with baited hooks. | COMBRIT, France — In a world of giant trawlers and fish-farming operations, Gwenaël Pennarun still sets out most days from this Breton village to catch sea bass the old-fashioned way, with baited hooks. |
| It is a way of life, and work, that he hopes the European Union will continue to support, depending on a coming vote on its fishing policies. | It is a way of life, and work, that he hopes the European Union will continue to support, depending on a coming vote on its fishing policies. |
| Early on a crisp and windy morning recently, Mr. Pennarun, 50, was a few miles offshore in the Bay of Biscay, hooking minnows and playing out several dozen long lines with an efficiency born of 30 years on the job. Though the risk of a fatal fall overboard is always present for someone working alone, he nevertheless appeared oblivious to the tilt of the deck and the soaking spray as his 8.5-meter, or 28-foot, aluminum boat climbed and plunged with each wave. | |
| A kilogram — or 2.2 pounds — of line-caught sea bass fillets, known in French as “bar de ligne,” can retail for more than 100 euros, or $137, in a Paris fish market, about double that of trawled fish and perhaps four times that of most farmed. The line-caught fish reach the dock fresh, and often alive, not frozen like trawled fish, and many customers prefer the taste and texture of the wild fish to that of farmed. Eco-conscious consumers may also be willing to pay more for fish caught according to a method that groups like Greenpeace endorse for “sustainability.” | A kilogram — or 2.2 pounds — of line-caught sea bass fillets, known in French as “bar de ligne,” can retail for more than 100 euros, or $137, in a Paris fish market, about double that of trawled fish and perhaps four times that of most farmed. The line-caught fish reach the dock fresh, and often alive, not frozen like trawled fish, and many customers prefer the taste and texture of the wild fish to that of farmed. Eco-conscious consumers may also be willing to pay more for fish caught according to a method that groups like Greenpeace endorse for “sustainability.” |
| While he is able to support his family, like many “artisanal” fishermen and women here Mr. Pennarun worries that his livelihood is at risk from industrial fishing operations subsidized by the European Union. Even the Union’s executive arm, the European Commission, has acknowledged that the subsidies, worth hundreds of millions of euros each year, support a fleet that is two to three times as large as is ecologically or commercially sustainable. | |
| A vote by the European Parliament, set for Wednesday in Strasbourg, France, could determine whether those subsidies continue to support the big-fleet approach or, instead, help pay for changes meant to steer the European Union’s saltwater fishing industry toward a more environmentally sound future. | A vote by the European Parliament, set for Wednesday in Strasbourg, France, could determine whether those subsidies continue to support the big-fleet approach or, instead, help pay for changes meant to steer the European Union’s saltwater fishing industry toward a more environmentally sound future. |
| While the amount of money — about 6.5 billion euros — for the bloc’s Common Fisheries Policy is not in dispute, the funding targets may be the subject of hot debate | While the amount of money — about 6.5 billion euros — for the bloc’s Common Fisheries Policy is not in dispute, the funding targets may be the subject of hot debate |
| Fishery ministers from the 28 European Union member states and members of the fisheries committee of Parliament back the industry in seeking to steer the money — to be paid out in installments over seven years beginning in 2014 — toward things like engine replacement, first boats for beginning fishers and scrapping older craft. | Fishery ministers from the 28 European Union member states and members of the fisheries committee of Parliament back the industry in seeking to steer the money — to be paid out in installments over seven years beginning in 2014 — toward things like engine replacement, first boats for beginning fishers and scrapping older craft. |
| On the other side stand people including Maria Damanaki, the European fisheries commissioner, who led an overhaul of the Common Fisheries Policy in May that was meant to end overfishing and stop the widely criticized practice of discarding perfectly good, but unwanted, species at sea. | On the other side stand people including Maria Damanaki, the European fisheries commissioner, who led an overhaul of the Common Fisheries Policy in May that was meant to end overfishing and stop the widely criticized practice of discarding perfectly good, but unwanted, species at sea. |
| Ms. Damanaki and conservationists oppose financing new fishing boats and engines, saying that the goal should instead be to reduce the fleet and finance the new environmental policy. | Ms. Damanaki and conservationists oppose financing new fishing boats and engines, saying that the goal should instead be to reduce the fleet and finance the new environmental policy. |
| They have been joined by 200 fishery scientists from around the world, who urged Parliament in an open letter “to move away from direct fleet subsidies,” and aim the money at “compliance with management rules, data collection, scientific research and stock assessments.” | They have been joined by 200 fishery scientists from around the world, who urged Parliament in an open letter “to move away from direct fleet subsidies,” and aim the money at “compliance with management rules, data collection, scientific research and stock assessments.” |
| Government-subsidized fishing is a worldwide concern for those who fear depletion of stocks. Rashid Sumaila, a scientist at the University of British Columbia who presented subsidies data to the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee last week, estimates that the global industry receives about $35 billion a year in subsidies, of which the biggest portion — about 20 percent — is fuel aid that allows ships to go farther and stay out longer in search of fish. | Government-subsidized fishing is a worldwide concern for those who fear depletion of stocks. Rashid Sumaila, a scientist at the University of British Columbia who presented subsidies data to the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee last week, estimates that the global industry receives about $35 billion a year in subsidies, of which the biggest portion — about 20 percent — is fuel aid that allows ships to go farther and stay out longer in search of fish. |
| Brussels is not the only source of handouts for the European industry. Fuel subsidies in the form of direct payments and diesel-tax exemptions amount to hundreds of millions of euros of additional aid each year, while member states steer millions of euros more from their own budgets, according to the European Commission. None of that money is on the table for discussion, suggesting that despite Ms. Damanaki’s efforts, government-financed overcapacity will not soon go away. | Brussels is not the only source of handouts for the European industry. Fuel subsidies in the form of direct payments and diesel-tax exemptions amount to hundreds of millions of euros of additional aid each year, while member states steer millions of euros more from their own budgets, according to the European Commission. None of that money is on the table for discussion, suggesting that despite Ms. Damanaki’s efforts, government-financed overcapacity will not soon go away. |
| Javier Garat, president of Europêche, a fishing industry group in Brussels, acknowledged that the subsidy program had been a lightning rod for criticism, but said the public’s understanding of the issue was “simplistic.” | |
| Fishers need financial help adapting to the changing regulatory environment, he said, because without that support, “it would be very difficult to comply.” | Fishers need financial help adapting to the changing regulatory environment, he said, because without that support, “it would be very difficult to comply.” |
| “We need aid to increase the selectivity of the fishing gear,” he said, to reduce the netting of unwanted species. “We also need to invest in finding new markets for species that traditionally had no value,” but which can no longer be discarded under the new rules. | “We need aid to increase the selectivity of the fishing gear,” he said, to reduce the netting of unwanted species. “We also need to invest in finding new markets for species that traditionally had no value,” but which can no longer be discarded under the new rules. |
| Part of the challenge for people on both sides of the debate is that no one, not even the European Commission, is certain how much money is flowing to the industry, which employs about 400,000 people, according to Europêche, including more than 120,000 working on 85,000 boats. Oceana, a marine conservation group, estimates that since 2000, the European Union has provided 8 billion euros of subsidies to the industry, with national governments led by Ireland, Spain, Italy and France topping that up with an additional total of 4.9 billion euros. | Part of the challenge for people on both sides of the debate is that no one, not even the European Commission, is certain how much money is flowing to the industry, which employs about 400,000 people, according to Europêche, including more than 120,000 working on 85,000 boats. Oceana, a marine conservation group, estimates that since 2000, the European Union has provided 8 billion euros of subsidies to the industry, with national governments led by Ireland, Spain, Italy and France topping that up with an additional total of 4.9 billion euros. |
| A scathing report by the French Court of Auditors, leaked in July to the newsmagazine Le Nouvel Observateur, illustrates the lack of transparency. According to the auditors, not even the authorities in Paris know how much public money France is handing out because there is no central record of the aid that is given out across all levels of government. But the subsidies, the report notes, are critical; without them, many French fishing operations “would not be viable.” | A scathing report by the French Court of Auditors, leaked in July to the newsmagazine Le Nouvel Observateur, illustrates the lack of transparency. According to the auditors, not even the authorities in Paris know how much public money France is handing out because there is no central record of the aid that is given out across all levels of government. But the subsidies, the report notes, are critical; without them, many French fishing operations “would not be viable.” |
| Claire Nouvian, director of Bloom Association, a French environmental organization, pointed to a direct link between subsidies and environmental destruction. She notes that France has nine bottom deep sea trawlers, boats that fish in a manner that has been compared to “driving a tractor across the seabed.” | Claire Nouvian, director of Bloom Association, a French environmental organization, pointed to a direct link between subsidies and environmental destruction. She notes that France has nine bottom deep sea trawlers, boats that fish in a manner that has been compared to “driving a tractor across the seabed.” |
| “Just take away the fuel-tax exemption and these boats would already be unprofitable,” Ms. Nouvian said. But the boats also receive millions of euros a year aid directly from the French state, she said. Without the various subsidies, she said, “they’d be bankrupt.” | “Just take away the fuel-tax exemption and these boats would already be unprofitable,” Ms. Nouvian said. But the boats also receive millions of euros a year aid directly from the French state, she said. Without the various subsidies, she said, “they’d be bankrupt.” |
| While the focus of attention is on subsidies to the big operators, even the artisanal fishermen lauded by conservationists gain. Mr. Pennarun, the Breton, acknowledged that if he did not receive a diesel-tax exemption, for example, his fuel bill — currently about 40 euros a day — would rise, and he would have to catch more fish each day just to break even. | While the focus of attention is on subsidies to the big operators, even the artisanal fishermen lauded by conservationists gain. Mr. Pennarun, the Breton, acknowledged that if he did not receive a diesel-tax exemption, for example, his fuel bill — currently about 40 euros a day — would rise, and he would have to catch more fish each day just to break even. |
| In a good week, Mr. Pennarun, who learned the trade from his father, can bring in 250 kilograms of fish, worth as much as 3,500 euros, much of which travels no further than the plates of guests at the Hotel du Bac restaurant here in Combrit. But it is an irregular business. When the weather in Brittany is poor, as it often is, days may pass before he can venture out, and in February and March, when the fish are spawning, he does not go out at all. | |
| He noted that 15 years ago, he decided he needed a new boat if he was going to keep up with his bigger rivals; an E.U. subsidy covered 25 percent of the cost of the craft, which was built by a company in Normandy. | |
| Because the quantity of sea bass has greatly diminished over the course of his career, he said, that more modern boat, which has vastly more sophisticated electronic technology for finding fish, has been crucial to his ability to continue as a fisherman. | Because the quantity of sea bass has greatly diminished over the course of his career, he said, that more modern boat, which has vastly more sophisticated electronic technology for finding fish, has been crucial to his ability to continue as a fisherman. |
| “Thirty years ago I worked fewer hours. I had less equipment, less technology,” Mr. Pennarun said. “But I caught more fish.” | |
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: | This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: |
| Correction: October 22, 2013 | Correction: October 22, 2013 |
Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated the amount of money under discussion in the European Union's Common Fisheries Policy. It is 6.5 billion euros, not 4.4 billion euros. | Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated the amount of money under discussion in the European Union's Common Fisheries Policy. It is 6.5 billion euros, not 4.4 billion euros. |