On the quays of Port-en-Bessin, in Calvados, Chief Warrant Officer Adeline Furet makes her way between the crates of freshly landed scallops. The arrival of the four members of the Coastal Surveillance Brigade (BSL) from Caen does not seem to interrupt the incessant ballet of the fishermen, busy unloading their precious victuals. “They were surely already aware of the control. Those who see our van pass on the road warn them, a bit like for drug trafficking”, says the gendarme, who identifies in a few seconds the boat which will be inspected on this Wednesday in December. “It’s random, like a car check”. Three days before New Year’s Eve, his team will carry out his last inspection of the week on a trawler over 15 meters long.
While the products caught by the ship – mainly scallops – will have every chance of ending up on the plates of the French for the end-of-year celebrations, the brigade recalls the details of the “extremely strict and complex” regulations. to which fishermen must comply. “Our role is to ensure the proper traceability of products, from fishing to the time they are consumed. There, for example, we will check that the shells have been caught in the right areas, at the right times, and respecting the quota”. On the boat, Adeline Furet’s eyes are everywhere. Experienced in the exercise, she does not hesitate to jump into the hold or the engine room, to ask for all the doors to be opened, to check the plastic bags and the smallest corners of the trawler.
The maximum quantity of detention and storage of scallops was set by the prefecture at the start of the season, and must not exceed two tonnes for this type of vessel. “But in the bay of the Seine, fishermen can harvest these two tonnes in just 1h30… The temptation to overfish is great. Some exceed the quota, and hide their surplus everywhere. We have already found some in the berths!” she explains. Sometimes, his colleagues even find products that have already been shucked, stored directly in garbage bags or in plastic crates. “Just in terms of hygiene, that raises questions”. But this afternoon, no cheating: Martin, the captain of the ship, is in order. Before the holidays, he accepts the test with a smile. “In four months, this is the first time! It’s the game, it’s normal. As long as it doesn’t take too long and I can go away for the weekend afterwards, that’s fine with me.
“White gold”
Under the fine rain of Normandy, the inspection is however not done in a snap of the fingers. The regulations are heavy: while the chief warrant officer searches the boat, two of his colleagues who remained at the quay check the freshness, quantity and size of the products caught. “All boxes must be marked with a label, with a QR code and all the information relating to the origin of the product. It’s mandatory”, they specify, pointing to the impressive shed in the fishing port, containing hundreds of crates of scallops. Warrant Officer Jérôme Coligny, a member of the BSL for 11 years, checks on his side with the captain the navigation permit, the fishing license, the diplomas of the teams, the fishing log, the areas where the Saint- Jacques, the time of departure and arrival at the port, the time of unloading the shells… But despite the rigor of the process, he insists on maintaining a more than cordial relationship with the fishermen he meets. “I know almost all of them, and most play the game of control, even when they are in the wrong”.
For Adeline Furet, the quality of these exchanges is essential. “We are here to inspect, of course, but also to take the pulse of the profession. Any difficulties experienced by fishermen, the latest news, wharf noises… It’s important. If there is a problem, we will be informed quickly”. Regularly, this work pays off. Last month, the BSL of Caen discovered a surplus of 655 kilos of scallops on a ship unloading in the port of Grandcamp-Maisy, about thirty kilometers from Port-en-Bessin. “In direct sales, the kilo can be offered between 3.50 and 4.50 euros. Imagine cheating like this, three or four times a week, and do the math… That’s why we call scallops ‘white gold’”, emphasizes the chef de brigade.
Aware of the risk of fraud – on shells or other seafood products popular during the holidays, such as shellfish, oysters or salmon, for example -, the maritime gendarmerie tells L’Express “to increase from 20 to 30 %” the number of its checks during this period, on all the French coasts. Between November 24 and 30, more than 13 tonnes of overfished scallops were seized from six ships in Normandy and northern Finistère. “This represents hundreds of thousands of euros in trafficking, a real illegal network is being created”, regrets Captain David Tillier, commander of the Judicial Support Section of the Maritime Gendarmerie. Beyond the fishing ports, he also recalls that hundreds of checks are also carried out each year in supermarkets, fishmongers or restaurants by the 1094 agents of the maritime gendarmerie, almost everywhere in France. “There may be deceptions about the origin, the appellation, compliance with health regulations… In the event of fraud, we have to arrest the perpetrators and bring them before the magistrates”.
26.02% overall anomaly rate
The maritime gendarmes are not the only ones to control the festive dishes that will end up on our plates at the end of the year. Agents from the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) also ensure the smooth running of the sale of “seafood and aquaculture products” in the territory. On December 21, 2022, the organization published the conclusion of a series of investigations carried out by its services in 2020: on the products inspected in nearly 900 establishments, the agents deplore an overall anomaly rate of 26.02%, most often concerning “sometimes fanciful or even misleading denominations”, at the level of the labelling, traceability or product size.
If regulations on the display of fishery products require that the trade name of the species, its scientific name, the production methods, the fishing areas or the farming country, the fishing techniques, or the origin and treatment (addition of salt, water, brining, thawing) possibly undergone by the fish, the investigators note that the absence of these indications “remains frequent in the labeling of seafood products put in sale”, and note an anomaly rate approaching “45%” on this point. Certain signs of quality, such as labels or positive mentions relating to local origin – red label salmon or IGP Marennes-Oléron oysters for example – are thus regularly the subject of usurpation.
The DGCCRF also observes “the undue use of mentions of the ‘fresh’ or ‘boneless’ type for processed, frozen or unqualified products”; “’wild’ for products from aquaculture”, or the use of “fish offcuts presented as much sought-after parts such as cheeks”. While at least one anomaly was observed in more than 51% of the establishments inspected, the organization specifies that these breaches of the regulations gave rise to nearly 350 warnings to remind professionals of their obligations, to 80 injunctions requiring these the last that they return to compliance, to 50 criminal proceedings and two administrative proceedings in 2020.