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New regulations January 2026
Yes, this December could have been the last time we'd be able to enjoy the freedom of the sea and leisure fishing. Unfortunately, the weather decided otherwise, and the leases will wait until May 1st, if they make it through the winter...
If the weather this December is forcing us to stay on the quayside, it's a different story from next January. From January 10, 2026, new regulations will come into force. There have been several articles explaining "the thing", "the thing", "the thingy", in short, the gas factory! Here's a link to one of them, published in this magazine, which explains how the new sea fishing regulations work. From now on, you'll have to fish with your smartphone in addition to your rods and lures. Regulation (EU) 2023/2842 and the Recfishing app will be your new fishing companions.
Meanwhile...
The recent changes in quotas and fishing practices imposed by the EU on species such as pollock and sea bass had already worn out the patience of many hobbyists. Some even sold their boats for these reasons. Meanwhile, spawning grounds continued to be plundered in winter by commercial fishing. You only have to visit the fishmonger's stalls in winter to find bass and pollack at knock-down prices...
The adjustment variant, under the guise of protecting the resource, is all too often non-commercial fishing, responsible for all the ills in the words of too many people. Scientific studies to back it up. In fact, the opinions that will serve as a basis for drawing up the 2026 regulations indicate that recreational fishing, for sea bass for example, takes more fish than commercial fishing. I've just read these figures on the Facebook page of the "Association des ligneurs de la Pointe Bretagne" in a "position paper on sea bass in 2025", which is accessible to all by going to their page! One has to wonder whether estimation studies are the rule when it comes to legislating on recreational fishing... These discussions on quotas and the sharing of the resource between the various states take place on December 11 and 12, as they do every year.
So that was it. No more winter fishing on the spot where, year in, year out, hoping for good weather, we'd bring back two or three decent lees, at least over 60 cm, from our two or three monthly outings, for the lucky ones. Even now, if we catch two 42 cm fish, a ridiculous mesh size that doesn't take into account the biology of this species, we have to stop targeting this fish... It's not easy to tell them to stop using lures, that they're just for pout. Yes, it's no longer the cod that are going to take them, the cod are gone, they've disappeared from a lot of spots, but that was before too. As for mackerel, ICES advice calls for a 70% reduction in catches by 2026. Gone are the summer barbecues with this species at the Flots Bleus campsite, that was before...
Towards citizen disobedience?
So, before the publication of the decree on these new declaration procedures, there was a public consultation on the subject. Of the 1,157 opinions retained out of the 1,289 submitted, 957 were explicitly unfavorable. The consultation was only there to comply with the law, as the decree had already been validated beforehand. This isn't the first time, and it probably won't be the last. Since the announcement of these new provisions, many voices have been raised on the networks. The recreational fishermen's collective (COPERE) is studying the various regulatory actions that could be taken to counter this project, which will soon no longer be a project. Others are considering a form of citizen disobedience, under the #boycottsolidairepeche banner, similar to what happened when the Facebook page "Le bar hors des étals de janvier à mars!" (Sea bass off the shelves from January to March) was set up to highlight the problem of fishing on spawning grounds.
Non-commercial fishing, where the sole aim was to fill the freezer, is a thing of the past, and thankfully so. There is a general awareness of the need to protect resources, especially among younger recreational anglers (even if, as everywhere, there are still a few black sheep). The regulations surrounding recreational fishing must evolve, that's for sure, but they must do so transparently and for the right reasons, and remain a simple leisure activity accessible to all, not a gas factory!
