Tendances à long terme de la production de la pêche maritime en France - 1986

Future prospects of landings are dependent on many political, economic and biological factors. Schematically, a large-scale increase in landings in the coming years seems very unlikely for species whose stocks are currently fully exploited. It must be emphasized that the measures meant to plan the exploitation of the stocks may often be more likely to improve the yields of the boats than to increase the overall catches. The technical difficulties associated with their implementation are the subject of studies at IFREMER. The prospects of reducing the intensity of fishing are dependent upon decisions by the professionals and the authorities; these prospects seem very unlikely in the short term but are conceivable in the mid term. The stock assessments led by IFREMER indicate the existence of relatively significant biological potential for pelagic species such as the sardine or the horse mackerel. The exploitation prospects of these stocks are very uncertain. In the current state of the markets, their exploitation depends on the possibilities of reducing production costs or modifying evaluation procedures. Examination of these possibilities needs to be done.