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Not under any conditions
Contrary to what is being written all over the place, the vast majority of recreational anglers are not opposed to registration, or even to declaring their catches, but not under just any conditions. As we saw this morning, and as has been denounced for some time, the method is not the right one, and the proof is that they have been unable to implement it on schedule. The leisure authorities had presented the principle as simple and quick to implement, but it's nothing of the sort. The EU has come up with a real gas factory, rather borderline and a little opaque, to say the least.
When I was a submarine hunter, there was a very simple and free procedure for registering: simply register with AFFMARS (authorization to practice submarine hunting) and read the regulations in force before issuing the sesame. It was quick and easy.
COPERE's position
COPERE, or Collectif des Pêcheurs Récréatifs, is an independent, collaborative organization entirely dedicated to defending the interests of amateur anglers, sharing and fairly managing fish stocks, and protecting natural environments in both freshwater and the sea.
We can agree or disagree with this collective, but they have the merit of asking questions that deserve to be answered...
COPERE press release :
"When law depends on application, the state becomes a bug. Progress that excludes is no longer progress: it's selection."
COPERE takes note of the official postponement of the obligation to declare recreational sea anglers via the European RecFishing application, announced as compulsory from January 10, 2026. After months of communication, publicly-funded campaigns and pressure exerted on recreational anglers, the administration now recognizes the obvious: the tool is not available.
This situation confirms what COPERE has been denouncing from the outset: governance that replaces law with digital interfaces, without any alternative solution, creates silent discrimination. This is what happens when you don't want to listen to European citizens.
COPERE denounces :
- A political and financial boondoggle: campaigns, meetings, communication... for a non-existent application on the day it came into force.
- Democratic contempt: the maritime affairs department deliberately disqualified opponents of the project from the discussions, even though they were warning of its inconsistencies.
- An organized digital divide: without a smartphone, a network or digital skills, access to the law becomes conditional. A symptom of an out-of-touch European policy, which France is undergoing and implementing, to the detriment of common sense and citizens.
COPERE asks :
- Immediate publication of the total cost of the RecFishing project (development, maintenance, communication)
- Transparency on service providers and public contracts
- An official timetable and a firm commitment
- No obligation should come into force without a simple, accessible and non-discriminatory alternative solution.
