“We need to talk to understand each other.” It was with this in mind that Marine Tondelier, general secretary of the Ecologists, visited Lorient (Morbihan) on Thursday, June 5, 2025, to meet with stakeholders in the Breton fishing industry. Two fishing skippers, Laurent Tréguier and Anthony Samséou, were present. Jean Besnard, a fishmonger, and Yves Foëzon, director of the professional organization Les Pêcheurs de Bretagne (LPDB). Their goal: “to dispel preconceived notions.”
The meeting was organized just days before the opening of the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice (Alpes-Maritimes), at a time when tensions between environmentalists and fishermen have been exacerbated in recent weeks by controversial initiatives from NGOs like Bloom. And while the Greens, through Senator Mathilde Ollivier, who was present yesterday, will introduce a bill on June 12th aimed at better protecting marine ecosystems by strengthening marine protected areas (MPAs) and banning trawlers longer than 25 meters within the 12-mile zone along the coast.
Industrial Fishing
Marine Tondelier at the Greens’ Summer Days in Grenoble. © AFP – Jean Benoit Vigny
Trawling, quotas, fleet reduction… Professionals and environmentalists exchanged cordially for over an hour and a half, without always reaching agreement. The definition of industrial fishing was particularly controversial: “For us, it’s trawlers longer than 25 meters,” explained Marine Tondelier. Precisely those the Greens want to ban from fishing in the 12-mile zone along the coast. “It’s pointless because there are almost none in this area,” retorted Yves Foëzon.
Paradoxically, they all agreed that they were victims of prejudice, each trying to justify their open-mindedness. “We’re here to help fishermen,” declared Marine Tondelier. “We’ve been questioning our practices for years,” replied Laurent Tréguier, administrator of the Lorient Artisanal Fishermen’s Association (GPAL) and owner of the langoustine boat Côte d’Ambre.
Boarding for a Tide
Marine Tondelier left the meeting satisfied. And ready to embark, with Lorient MP Damien Girard, also present yesterday, on Laurent Tréguier’s Côte d’Ambre, at dawn on Friday, for a tide that is expected to last until noon on Friday, June 6: “I want to be able to say that I understood their working conditions.” Feedback from the professionals is mixed. “It allowed us to be factual, to avoid getting emotional,” said Laurent Tréguier. Anthony Samséou is more doubtful: “I wasted an hour of my time. These aren’t the first politicians we’ve seen here. They say yes, but then they don’t carry our voice.”
