The French anchovy fishery

The french fishery of anchovy is divided in two groups defined by gears : purse seine and pelagic trawl. The average length of these vessels is about 20m.\nThis fleet is very opportunistic : all trawlers are using several trawls during the year, to catch sometimes bass, tuna, hake, or scampi, and purse seine are mainly fishing sardine.\nEach year, the main anchovy catches are provided by pair trawlers.\nPurse seiners operate often in coastal areas (<10 nautical miles); trawlers may operate until 50 nautical miles offshore but are banned inside the three miles coastal zone.\nThe pair trawlers may operate from Basque country to western Channel according to fish availability. Purse seiners usually stay around their home harbour.\n