Up next in 10
Macron 'avoids' taking on fishing lobby: 'Protection of oceans requires 'ban on destructive fishing'
651 views
Mar 31, 2025
According to the OECD, oceans need stronger protections and governance to ensure the blue economy can grow fairly and sustainably in the face of climate change, territorial disputes and other threats. The ocean economy expanded to $2.3 trillion in 2020 but various headwinds could hinder future growth, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said in a new report. For in-depth analysis and a deeper perspective, François Picard welcomes Claire Nouvian, journalist, television / film producer, environmental activist, and Founder / Director General of Bloom Association.
View Video Transcript
0:00
Emmanuel Macron, who you saw there, spelling out eight objectives ahead of an oceans summit that's being hosted in the French Riviera Resort of Nice come the month of June
0:17
The French president spelling out eight targets that include an end to overfishing, the better protection of marine habitat, in particular, the protection of coral reefs
0:29
Exotic fish, water at 25 degrees Celsius and no pollution
0:44
The perfect home for corals to thrive far from the tropics. Since the 1980s, nearly 85 species have been cultivated in this lab
0:56
This small piece can now go in the water. It's the beginning of a mother colony, which in about a year's time will look like this
1:13
According to a recent UN report, the world's coral reefs could be lost to the climate crisis
1:19
in the next 10 to 50 years. Faced with this deadly scenario, marine biologist Didier Zucola decided to launch a major conservation project, aiming to provide shelter to all species known to humankind
1:38
It's like Noah's Ark, but for corals. We're taking them out of their natural environment in the hope that things will get better one day
1:48
In the meantime, we're keeping them safe in aquariums like this one
1:53
because we know how to cultivate corals. The first sampling mission, which took place in the Seychelles Islands in 2022
2:05
yielded 21 species. Each fragment, measuring no more than 15 centimetres, was fitted with a computer chip
2:13
to create an ID card for each individual, including the type of sediment, depth and precise location where it was collected
2:22
We've since found a new home in Monaco, but also in museums and zoos in France and the Netherlands
2:30
Several samples of the same specimen must be kept in at least three different locations to guarantee there is a backup Can you imagine keeping a species in just one aquarium and that aquarium has a technical problem
2:46
If that species can no longer be found in the wild, that would mean we would see it disappear
2:51
We can't take that risk, so we're placing our corals in different aquariums
2:57
But it might not be enough to save them if they can no longer survive in the wild
3:03
Scientists are studying ways to make corals resistant to higher temperatures and oceans turned more acidic due to carbon emissions
3:12
This species found in the Red Sea is being exposed here to a pH of 8 in normal conditions, all the way to an extreme of 7.2
3:24
We've shown that there's a change in its genes, allowing the species to adapt
3:30
That's why this coral in particular can survive in more acidic conditions
3:37
Now we want to try and transfer that resistance to other vulnerable species
3:42
in the hope of restoring coral reefs that have been degraded by ocean acidification
3:49
The next mission is set to take place in the Philippines in 2025
3:55
Over the next five years, scientists hope to collect a total of 1,600 species
4:04
And joining us is environmentalist Claire Nouvian, founder of the Bloom Association
4:09
Thank you for being with us here on France 24. Thanks. The Bloom Association, which is sponsoring a petition to protect marine habitat
4:18
in places like those coral reefs that we're talking about. But you were telling me before we went on air, you were a little underwhelmed by the French president's remarks at this preparatory summit
4:28
Right. That's even an understatement. I think I'm completely daunted. So this morning there was an SOS Ocean Summit with lots of the international marine community gathered with delegations from countries and so on
4:42
And expectations were really high on the president because France is hosting the next UN Ocean Conference, right, in June
4:49
So this was a sort of prep meeting for the UN Ocean Conference. And we were expecting Macron to say very loud and clear things about true protection of marine so-called protected areas. And the exact opposite happened, right
5:08
So a manifesto had been prepared for the summit and the manifesto said very clearly that we should actually comply with international definitions supported by scientists of what protection is And protection is very straightforward
5:22
You can't call an area protected if you troll it, right? If you troll the seafloor, if you troll through the water column
5:30
and if you take every single animal that lives there, right? So protection should mean a ban on destructive fishing
5:37
And Emmanuel Macron avoided... Why? Why did he avoid it? Because the fishing lobbies are all over him
5:44
But they're very small. So that's the point I really want to make
5:48
I mean, we're talking, you know how many vessels are actually implicated in trawling
5:53
whether midwater column trawling or bottom trawling? 800. And if you ring fence these designated areas, you still have plenty of room to fish
6:03
Oh, gosh, yeah. I mean, if we actually did 30% protection, that would still leave 70% of the ocean for those destroyers, right
6:11
These bottom trawlers, these pelagic trawlers, they could still fish the hell out of 70%, which is reasonable, isn't it
6:19
I mean, asking for 30% protection is not a whim. It's a scientific recommendation because the ocean is in extremely bad state
6:28
And we all know that we're going through a major mass extinction of actually wild species on Earth, right
6:36
So we need to protect them. We need to protect ourselves. The ocean is our sort of lifeline to us, humanity
6:45
And everybody's been hammering the same message over and over, actually for decades
6:50
And it's kind of daunting to see that fishing lobbies a minute little economic interest
6:57
which is actually, you have to bear that in mind, trawling as an activity is unprofitable
7:03
It is structurally unprofitable. So if we didn't fund trawling, if we didn't fund these activities with our subsidies and public money, they wouldn't even exist
7:14
So the whole thing is a bit of a, I think, embarrassing situation
7:18
It's not just the French who trawl, of course, and we've seen a lot of countries that do
7:24
But the mood these days is not for some kind of international policing at a supranational level of waters, is it
7:33
No, but I think everybody's got to take responsibility in their sovereign waters
7:38
And that's exactly why France, being the second largest maritime territory in the world
7:43
right after the U.S., has to take responsibility. And as the host of the Next Year Ocean Conference of course there are very high expectations And I think everybody in the room this morning at SOS Ocean meeting was embarrassed when Mr Macron spoke because it was really kind of like OK now you actually telling us publicly that you only support a little very small fraction of economic interests which again are not profitable without public subsidies against the will of citizens against the will of scientists against the recommendations
8:15
And it became even so more embarrassing when Mr. Macron, as he would do sometimes, became very arrogant and started lecture
8:25
He said, we will basically look after those countries that don't implement protection
8:30
You're like, I'm sorry, you don't implement protection. True protection in French waters is actually less than 0.1%
8:39
We don't protect anything except for trawlers. So one last question for you
8:45
We have a biodiversity summit that did not go well. We had the last climate summit by the UN that didn't go very well either
8:55
The targets were lowered. What would be the measure of success for the June summit
9:00
Well, the June summit is about stopping destruction and protecting truly. And the only thing that we need to bear in mind is that one day or the other
9:09
we'll realize that we need the ocean more than it needs us. And so if we don't stop fooling around with the CO2 emissions on one hand and the ongoing destruction by industrial fishing on the other, we won't be safe
9:24
Us humans, the planet will go on, right? The planet has gone through extinction cycles, but we will not survive this
9:32
I mean, we have to understand that who's most at risk right now
9:36
We humans are seriously at risk. And we're playing with fire. The only thing about humanity is that it feels like we have to
9:43
it's like as if fire was going on in our streets and we're waiting for fire to arrive in our apartments to kind of wake up
9:49
But when fire is in your apartment and there is fire outside, it's too late to react, right
9:54
So this is really what we have to start seriously understanding. But I think it's become quite clear that we can't count on our politicians anymore
10:02
So we need to turn to retailers. They're the ones who actually can call the shots
10:07
They're the ones who say, you know what, we will stop purchasing. fish from so-called protected areas. They're the ones who can actually make protected areas real
10:15
So we really are turning to retailers at international scale right now
10:19
And that is a call that is launched here. Claire Nouvion, I want to thank you so much for being
10:23
with us. Thank you. Stay with us. There's more to come, more news, plus today's business and sports
10:28
You're watching France 24
#Climate Change & Global Warming
#Ecology & Environment
#Green Living & Environmental Issues
#news