Area dedicated to fishermen

Compensation for the fishing industry

This information space is dedicated to beneficiaries of financial compensation measures for the fishing industry.
The implementation of these compensation measures is the subject of consultations between the Fisheries Committees, institutions and organizations in the fishing industry.

The offshore wind project off the coast of Saint-Brieuc Bay is being developed by Ailes Marines , a company 100% owned by the energy company IBERDROLA.

Winner in April 2012 of call for tender n°2011/S 126-208873, Ailes Marines is in charge of the development, construction and operation of the offshore wind farm, in the area defined by the State French, off the Costa Rican coast.

The Saint-Brieuc wind farm, whose gradual commissioning is planned for the end of 2023, will be made up of 62 Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy wind turbines of 8 Megawatts, for a total power of 496 Megawatts. The turbines will be distributed over an area of ​​75 km², with the wind turbine closest to the coast being located 16.3 km from Cape Fréhel.

The expected energy production will amount to 1,850 Gigawatt hours, the equivalent of the electricity consumption of 835,000 inhabitants, heating included.

The 62 wind turbines will be arranged in 7 lines of 3 to 14 wind turbines, spaced approximately 1,300 meters apart. Within each line, the inter-turbine spacing is approximately 1,000 meters.

An electrical substation is located in the center of the wind farm, aligned with the turbines in the fourth row.

The transport and installation part is carried out by the companies Van Oord and SAIPEM.

Installation work began in the first half of 2021.

Avoid, reduce, compensate

Ailes Marines has implemented all possible measures to avoid and reduce the disturbance of fishermen. However, the unavoidable exclusion from construction zones suffered by fishing companies constitutes a loss that Ailes Marines undertakes to compensate.

A sequencing of work has been put in place since May 2021 in order to reduce the impact of the project on fishing activity.

The following diagrams illustrate the succession of orders temporarily regulating maritime activities in the bay during construction work on the wind farm.

Since May 2021
Until today

The compensation system put in place

In order to consider the damage to fishing companies which suffer a significant restriction of their activities linked to the construction work of the park, compensatory measures are proposed by Ailes Marines . They are broken down into collective and individual measures to take into account the entire fishing industry.

Individual compensation

The compensation is legally regulated, it aims to repair real damage, some attributable to the areas closed by the wind farm site work. This implies that each fisherman must provide proof of their habitual use of exclusion zones and their loss of turnover.

What is compensated?

Operating losses directly linked to the closure of fishing zones.

Which economic actors are concerned?

Fishing businesses that suffer economic damage.

Which phase of the project is concerned?

The construction phase.

What is the need to be compensated?

Assessment of the operating loss for the vessels concerned.

Since the start of the project Ailes Marines has mobilized to set up a compensation process adapted to the needs:

  • 2011: Impact study on the fishing sector carried out by the OCEANIC DEVELOPPEMENT design office
  • 2014: Analysis of VALPENA data carried out by IN-VIVO and the Breton Fishing Committees
  • 2015-2016: Study financed by Ailes Marines within CDPMEM 22 on measuring economic impacts and calculating the need for compensation
  • 2017-2018: BMMF mission study of the fishing compensation methodology based on protocols aimed at measuring the impacts of the wind project using Visiomer data, VALPENA, declarative data and economic questionnaires
  • 2022: Mission from Breizh Marine Expertise (Yannick Hemeury) to analyze fishing activity in the wind project area

Today, to facilitate and support the fishing professionals concerned Ailes Marines is mobilizing:

  • BMMF to help shipping companies present proof of their attendance
  • RICEP is the organization which will be responsible for the economic aspect to assess the need for compensation of the fishing companies concerned.

Step 1

Make your request online

2nd step

Analysis of my use of the area

Step 3

Study of my accounting data

Step 4

Calculation of the amount of compensation

Step 5

Signing a transactional protocol

Step 6

Receive your financial compensation