EUROPEAN-UNION FISHING FLEET IN THE BAY OF BISCAY, SEEN FROM THE SKY

Regular flights over the Bay of Biscay by the French Customs Air Servi ce, have enabled us to record more precisely, from 1989 to 1995, the g eographical locations of French and other European Community (EU) fish ing boats. Data showed three main 'metiers' within the Bay of Biscay f ishing fleet: French and Spanish bottom trawlers (61 %), French gill-n etters and Spanish longliners: More than 80 % of gill-netters worked i nside the territorial sea (12 nautical miles) and 60 % of them worked south of Noirmoutier (47 degrees N). Longliners moved according to the seasons, from the edge of the continental shelf to the 50-100 m sound ing lines. Since they work at night, only few pelagic trawlers have be en recorded (records being made in daylight). The potters, liners and other small 'metier' boats of the bay were only located along the coas t. The position of the French boats' positions according to their regi stration district showed that most boats worked close to their landing ports and that the overlap is small between the areas of two neighbou ring fleets. Further analysis of the spatial distribution of boats in the French EEZ showed that Spanish boats were mainly recorded in the s outhern part of the Bay of Biscay, and that most were Basque. Belgian and Dutch beam trawlers fished their quota of sole off the 'Pertuis Ch arentais', the Gironde estuary and the 'bassin d'Arcachon'. The 100 m sounding Line appeared to constitute a demarcation line between the ma jor fraction of the French fleet and other EU fishing boats. Although some fishing areas were only visited by boats practising a particular 'metier', others were coveted by everybody and, consequently, were are as with the most serious risk of conflicts. (C) Elsevier, Paris.