In the Basque Country, the full -sea association values craft fishing in short circuit

Two tuna tatakis and a homemade superimi! Proudly launches Arnaud Leroux, in the direction of the queue which lengthens in front of the stand decorated with the blue Calicot of the Association Truck. at the foot of the Fronton of Ciboure (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), on this sweet summer evening, tourists and inhabitants crowd around large tables for the “land and sea” meal organized by the municipality.

The principle is simple: everyone composes their plate from prepared food and sold live by producers of the Basque Country. Salad with marinated eggplant, chipolatas, sheep cheese … or even Japanese specialties prepared the day before with fish from local fishing.

For the event, 30 kg of white tuna and 20 kg of blue hake and chimson were bought by the association with two craftsmen from the port of Saint-Jean-de-Luz-Ciboure. Then prepared for an entire afternoon by three volunteer cooks including Arnaud.

“With the impoverishment of resources, the small fishermen return to the port with fewer fish in the hold,” worries the forties, himself a former fisherman. So that they can continue their activity, we must find ways to further enhance their product. Depending on the seasons, direct sales can allow them to win up to twice what they touch on the auction. »»

An interactive pool

A marketing method that the full sea association encourages especially through an interactive map on its site*. It allows lovers of fresh fish to identify, locate and contact fishermen likely to sell the fruit of their work in mainland France. Each point of the card opens onto a sheet presenting the craftsman, the fish usually caught, the techniques chosen (net, palangon, locker).

“Developing this card asked me for two full -time years, going to meet each of the 640 fishermen listed,” explains the director of the association, Thibault Josse, who activates this evening on the stand. It allows you to subscribe to their Facebook or Instagram account, to follow their news. The job depends, for example, on weather conditions at sea, and it is rare that fishermen are present at hours and fixed days to sell. This card is all the more useful since information and accessibility in ports are not always there. In Ciboure, the wood stocked with wood reserved for direct sale is located behind a deterrent barrier, next to the auction. The summer visitors who achieve it are paid for their sentence.

On one of the tables in which the daughter of a fisherman activates, the mule sells at 5 euros per kilo, the white tuna at 12 euros. “The price of fish here has nothing to do with that practiced in the Halles de Saint-Jean-de-Luz,” noted Laurence and Olivier. We came to get something simple to cook for our elder who does not like tuna. They leave with a mule prepared on demand, after transaction, as required by the regulation of direct sales, so as not to compete with fishmongers. The freshness is unbeatable: the fishermen who sell at the table do it maximum 24 hours after their catch.

The lure of quotas

But the stall represents constraints and time that some do not have. Patron fisherman of Cloé, Guillaume Chausse, 44, gave it up. He prefers to market part of his fish caught at the palangon via an AMAP (Association for the maintenance of peasant agriculture). According to him, the major issue for the survival of artisanal fishing is to access more quotas. “The distribution is poorly made, the quotas go to large shipowners,” he deplores on board his 12 meter ship. And the others – the small boats – no longer have enough to live. »»

A problem well identified by full sea, which announces for the start of the 2025 school year the launch of the land of links. “On the model of the land of links intended for peasants, it will harvest savings to buy fishing boats, with the rights to produce associates,” explains Thibault Josse. And install young professionals who want to practice sustainable fishing. »With, as a key, employment and fresh fish.

* Associationpleinemer.com, “La Carte” tab.