Blog [Interview]
Meeting with Yannick Hemeury
Manager of Breizh Marine Expertise
Today, we take you to meet Yannick Hemeury.
A shipowner for 30 years, Yannick Hemeury started in the merchant navy in 1979 and is now the head of Breizh Marine Expertise, a design and engineering office serving the fishing industry. President of the local fisheries committee of Paimpol for 22 years, member of the national shellfish commission since 1989, member of the regional fisheries committee since its creation in 1994, president of the ASPTG (Association de Support aux Pêcheurs du Trégor Goëlo) since 2005 and co-president of the CML (Mer and Coast Commission of the Paimpol maritime district), Yannick Hemeury is a committed fisherman with in-depth knowledge of the land and the stakeholders who make it up.
Can you introduce us to Breizh Marine Expertise?
Breizh Marine Expertise is above all a philosophy of saying: “How do we move forward over time with the least constraints from fossil fuels? »
The Breizh Marine Expertise company participates in numerous projects including:
- The development of integrated multi-trophic aquaculture.
- The development of algae cultivation in Tregor.
- At the Paimpol-Bréhat offshore test site for the development of the tidal turbine sector supported by the Brittany region.
How do you intervene in the Ailes Marines project?
If we go back to the genesis of the project, when it was presented to us in August 2009, in Rennes, I was vice-president of the regional fisheries committee and president of the local committee of Paimpol. There was a project to develop marine energy and offshore wind turbines in the north of Côtes-d'Armor.
We participated in the meetings and took part in the choice of areas of least constraint and in the definition of the alignment of the wind turbines.
Some time ago, the company Ailes Marines offered to carry out a study to update the results of fishing activity in the wind farm area. A previous study having been carried out in 2014-2015 in collaboration with the CDPMEM22 as part of the project's administrative authorization requests. Also, this mission aims to determine who is really impacted by the establishment of the park. Out of 280 boats, 22 or 23 boats, or 10% in the end, will be impacted to varying degrees.
The discussion with the fishermen of the bay of Saint-Brieuc on this subject went very well. With me they are transparent, there are no secrets, we speak the same language, it's simpler.
They call me, I get on the boats and I look with them at the screenshots, the plotters, the map of the sets (traps and/or nets)... The interviews last 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes, I do a lot of teaching.
I created a file which facilitates exchanges with fishermen in which it is mentioned the impacted period, the month, the season, when they fish, the frequency, the number of days, the species they fish. fish, their turnover… These exchanges allow me to have real data on their impact.
I then put you in touch with RICEP , which is a group of experts in the fishing industry who work in particular on this subject of the impact on fishing activity. These experts will validate the elements provided to prove the damage. An agreement can subsequently be signed between the impacted fisherman and Ailes Marines to provide compensation.
“The goal is to manage to dispassionate these oppositions to succeed in regaining a climate of trust so that the adventure continues with both parties. »
The confidence and experience I have in the field allows me to have a dialogue, a privileged relationship with the fishermen I encountered when I was sailing.
The goal is to manage to dispassionate these oppositions to succeed in regaining a climate of trust so that the adventure continues with both parties because fishing will continue despite the park, perhaps differently on certain trades, but today, we must be active and work together to move forward in the best of all possible worlds.
Why did you accept the mission?
Due to my political role as a professional representative for over 30 years, I was included in this project, I was in favor of it because we cannot counter the government and we had to find the best possible compensation so that the fishermen could continue. to work and evolve. I am resolutely optimistic, when things are not going well, they are always going well!
Our life does not end at the age of 30.
Before being fishermen, we are also citizens! We have a before and we have an after, what do we do every morning? We turn on the light. And the international context and current events prove it right. Can we free ourselves from renewable energies today? No. Can we free ourselves from nuclear power? No. I am not for nuclear power but there are also thoughts to be had in this direction.
“Today there is a mix of renewable energies, photovoltaic, nuclear… the energy mix is the well-being of life. »
I often say to sailors: “We are not just fishermen, we are also sailors!” » It's not just fishing, there's also the merchant marine, scallops, ferries and even offshore now... Some boats will undoubtedly have to redeploy to other fishing areas . Some boats will be impacted, but tomorrow, sailors will be able to find work in the new professions that will develop with the wind farm and that is a strength!
What are your conclusions following your first discussions with artisanal fishermen?
I met about 20 fishermen who signed and only 3 did not sign. I found the discussions constructive with interested fishermen, people who were more or less impacted but above all happy to have someone with whom they can talk and answer their questions, because they recognize that they have difficulty obtaining information.
I am super happy to work for Ailes Marines and I enjoy this mission! It's not just a simple job, I think it helps the project evolve.
What is your opinion on the development of EMR in Brittany?
The development of EMR in Brittany must be dispassionate, we must change the positions of everyone.
Today, the world is changing, I describe today's MRE as the pleasure boating of the 80s. 40 years ago, the sea belonged to fishermen. When pleasure boating began to emerge, there was new competition for space used by fishermen and boaters took their place.
Forty years later, boating is part of the body of water, it is actors, citizens who also have access to it. It is the evolution of society, the creation of jobs, the development of nautical and leisure activities, Tabarly who crosses the Atlantic... and fishermen who have also become boaters.
We need the energy transition, and we're going to have to live with it, we're going to occupy the body of water. We had privileged access as fishermen but we are not the only ones to have the right to access this privilege.