Who is fishing?

Professional fishermen have to be trained by the Cherbourg's Maritime and Fish Farmer School (lycée maritime et aquacole)

These trainings last from 2 to 9 months according to the level requested.

Since Colbert who set up the first National Health Service, fishermen subscribe to a particular national health service : l'ENIM.

The main administration that is running the fishing activity is "les Affaires Maritimes". One of its offices is based at Cherbourg.

Fishermen are gathered in local committee of maritime fishing. Two committees are based on the Cotentin :

- The local committee of maritime fishing of Cherbourg that is covering from Fermanville to Carteret
- The local committee of the East cost that is covering from Cosqueville until the Calvados.

These two committees and the others based in Normandy are gathered by the Regional Committee of Maritime fishing whose the registered office is based at Cherbourg.

Since some time, fishermen also depend on Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Cherbourg whose the area is from Portbail to Lestre.

We also have to take into account the new organization Cotentin Area (Pays du Cotentin) that extends from Portbail to the Calvados.

Each fisherman is free to be a member of the Normandy Producers organization (O.P.B.N. Organisation de Producteurs de Basse-Normandie) whose the head office is based at Port-en-Bessin in Calvados.
Against a retribution, the organization (O.P.B.N) insures some minimal prices according to European regulations and subsidies.

How can we fish ?

Professional fishing stays the last traditional activity in our Occidental economy.

When fishermen are putting out to sea, they do not know what specie of fish they will catch : men wish but it is sea that orders !

6 types of fishing are met in the Cotentin :

Trawl

It is a fishing net which is surrounded by parties made in iron to open it. Ballasted, the trawl is running on the ocean deep and catching animals alive.

Main species caught are :

   - flatfishes (soles, brills, turbots)
   - white fishes (cods, whiting, cods…)
   - gurnards and red-mullets
   - cuttlefish and squids

The pelagic trawl

It is a way of fishing which is few spread through the Cotentin.

The principle of this fishing is like the traditional trawl but with a net less ballasted and towed by 2 ships. The main ship is called the ox and the other one is called the calf. The calf brings the net on board of the main ship.

This trawl towed between ocean deep and surface is looking for bass, grey sea breams and sometimes mackerel and sardine.

This fishing is few spread through the Cotentin because of the strategy as well as the hazards of this way of fishing.

Dragnet

Near of the trawl by its principle, the net is replaced by a kind of cage made in iron which is in front of a rod with hooks. This equipment is essentially used by fishing boats less 16m long. The main species are scallops, mussels or queen scallops.

After all these equipments which are towed or dragged, other equipments catch species in staying static.

Fishing with net

It is some nets vertically tightened between two ropes. The one which is up has some floats and the one which is down is ballasted. Fish is caught in going through nets. It is a way of fishing which is few spread in the Cotentin because of currents.

However some ships fish in this way at Barfleur and Carteret.

It is a cage made with an iron, wood or plastic frame on which we tighten a net.

These pots which are round or rectangular are attached to a rope and set up on the deep.

It is a way of fishing particularly used in Cherbourg, Omonville, Carteret and Dielette for the shellfishes like commons, spider crabs, crabs.

Whelks and cuttlefishes are fished in this way on the West coast of the Cotentin (Portbail and Carteret).

Longline

It is a speciality of the area.

It is a main rope, on which are set up some secondary fishing lines with hooks.

According to the deep of underwater laying, the main species caught are : conger, small sharks like dogfishes, lings and rays.

A flotilla about fifty fish ships on Barfleur and Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue uses this fishing in pulling line in strong currents in order to catch basses and pollacks.