Analyse typologique des activités de pêche de la flottille des côtes-d'Armor

Introduction: Setting up a policy of coastal fisheries management goes through a preliminary stage of understanding the dynamics of the fishing fleets as much as their tactics. Small fleets, such as those of the Côtes d'Armor, are characterised by: - the boats' home ports are scattered widely, - the heterogeneousness of the types of vessels and fishing gear used, - the versatility of the fishing units, - the plurispecificity of the exploited resource, - the flexibility of operating strategies, that is, the fishing owners' ability to change occupation. However, this flexibility is limited by the availability of the resource, by the market, by the investments granted (boats, fishing materiel), as well as by "cultural" context and know-how. This specificity is such that, beyond the boats' technical characteristics on which studies of fleets classically rely, we must define and analyse the various operating strategies in place. These strategies are expressed by the occupational choice practiced by the fishing boat owners, that is, the choice of fishing gear, the species sought, the areas and time periods of activity. The multiplicity of occupations practised requires resorting to techniques of typological analyses that make it possible to break a heterogeneous whole down into more coherent subgroups. The typological analysis therefore has as its objective the individualisation of groups of owners having relatively homogeneous operating strategies. By allowing us to enumerate and characterise the various components of the Côtes d'Armor fleet, the typology undertaken is an invaluable tool for specifying ships affected by various problems, among which is that currently posed by the decline of scallop stocks. It is therefore much easier to assess the consequences of implementing a management step. The results presented here are based on an analysis of fishing activities developed in 1989. It follows a similar analysis conducted on the year 1986, which has made it possible to assess recent changes in the fishery business. After a very succinct introduction of the methodology used, the principal occupations practised by Côtes d'Armor fleets are presented. The third part of this document is devoted to describing the typology of operating strategies. In the fourth part, we have attempted to assess future changes in the fleet according to the fishing strategies observed in 1986 and in 1989 and taking into account the current situation of current stocks and markets.