Thirty-day closure of fishing in the Bay of Biscay

The Ministry for Ecological Transition, Biodiversity, and International Negotiations on Climate and Nature published in the Official Journal of the French Republic No. 0212 of September 11, 2026, a decree dated September 9, 2026 (NOR TECM2623771A) imposing a 30-consecutive-day fishing closure in the Bay of Biscay. The measure, applicable for the year 2027, aims to reduce the accidental bycatch of small cetaceans during the high-risk winter period.

A closure targeted at the risk period

The decree prohibits the use of certain fishing gear in the Bay of Biscay for a period of 30 consecutive days set between January 15 and February 27, 2027. This window falls within the “high-risk period,” defined by the text as the winter period during which interactions between small cetaceans and fishing gear are strongest, with observed peaks in strandings, from January 15 to March 31 each year.

The Bay of Biscay is defined as zone CIEM VIII, subdivisions a, b, c, and d. The measure applies to fishing vessels with an overall length greater than or equal to 8 meters, belonging to navigation categories numbered 1 to 4 inclusive.

Affected gear

The prohibition concerns the gear most likely to accidentally capture small cetaceans:

pelagic otter trawl (gear code OTM)
pelagic pair trawl (gear code PTM)
bottom pair trawl (gear code PTB)
trammel net (gear code GTR)
set gillnet (gear code GNS)
combined trammel and gillnet (gear code GTN)
pelagic seine (gear code PS)

Vessels using different types of gear may nevertheless fish during the prohibition period, provided they do not have any of the listed gear on board.

Application procedures and exemptions

Shipowners must transmit to the Departmental Directorate of Territories and the Sea (DDTM) to which their vessel is attached, no later than December 1, 2026, the date of the first day of their 30-consecutive-day closure period, chosen within the period between January 15 and February 27, 2027, inclusive. In the absence of notification, vessels must stop from January 22 to February 20, 2027, inclusive.

Exemptions are provided for vessels using the targeted gear only in delimited coastal areas:

the Gulf of Morbihan (seaward of the line connecting the point of Kerpenhir to the point of Port Navalo)
the Arcachon Basin (seaward of the straight baseline connecting the point of Cap Ferret to the point of Arcachon)
the Gironde estuary (seaward of the transverse line joining the point of Grave to the point of Suzac)

Sanctions and scope

Any failure to comply with the provisions of the decree may, independently of any criminal penalties that may be imposed, lead to an administrative sanction taken in accordance with articles L. 946-1 and L. 946-4 of the rural and maritime fishing code. The Director General of Maritime Affairs, Fisheries and Aquaculture and the competent regional prefects are responsible for the execution of this text.

For professional fishers in the Bay of Biscay, this 30-day winter closure represents a major operational constraint, but it addresses a primary environmental challenge: the reduction of accidental catches of small cetaceans, whose winter strandings constitute a recurring warning signal. The flexibility granted to shipowners in choosing the closure window, subject to notification before December 1, 2026, aims to reconcile ecological imperatives with the organization of the fleets.

Official source: Decree of September 9, 2026 establishing spatio-temporal measures aimed at reducing accidental catches of small cetaceans in the Bay of Biscay for the year 2027 (NOR TECM2623771A), published in the Official Journal of the French Republic No. 0212 of September 11, 2026.