In December 2025, SEA2SEE partner Ethic Ocean organised a workshop as part of the stakeholder engagement activities, bringing together fishers and restaurateurs to discuss the key challenges that marine resources face.
Restaurateurs from different regions met with fishers from the Coopérative Maritime Étaploise in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France’s leading fishing port. This immersion into the heart of the seafood supply chain provided an opportunity to better understand on-the-ground realities and to strengthen dialogue between those who harvest marine resources and those who showcase them on the plate.
Objectives of the workshop
- Improve mutual understanding of professions working with the same resources, yet often without direct interaction
- Share experiences and discuss key fishing-related challenges, including traceability, sustainability, and the valorisation of local species in the face of widely consumed imported products
- Explore ways to collectively build a responsible value chain based on small-scale, sustainable and responsible fishing practices
An immersion into the fishing value chain
The day was dynamic and structured around several highlights, which included:
- A visit to the Boulogne-sur-Mer fish auction
- Discovery of landed species
- A quayside visit of a hybrid trawler, a showcase of maritime innovation, guided by the fisherman – a boat owner
- A tour of the Boulogne-sur-Mer seafood processing site Capécure
- A round-table discussion bringing together fishers and chefs
Sustainability and Traceability at the heart of the discussions
The exchanges addressed several key topics, such as the realities and constraints of the small-scale fishing profession, the value of sustainable and responsible exploitation of marine resources, ensuring good quality products for the final consumer, the preservation and transmission of essential maritime know-how – a true national heritage, and last but not least, improving supply chain organisation to offer chefs local, diversified, ultra-fresh products with the necessary level of traceability.
Building a shared vision for responsible fishing
Rich in exchanges, shared beliefs and forward-looking perspectives, this day highlighted how essential dialogue between fishers, the seafood sector and the restaurant industry is to promote sustainable and responsible fishing. This collective dynamic lies at the heart of the SEA2SEE project, supporting greater transparency, informed consumption and a more sustainable future for marine resources.
Contributor: Ethic Ocean