Produits de la mer - n°181 - Avril 2018 - 73

Lionel Flageul

Dossier ❘ EMPLOI

n the fishing sector, the fish auctions,
the fish wholesalers, fish processing
or fishmongers, all the trades related
to seafood products face recruitment
problems... This is all the more worrying
since the average age is higher and higher
and a great number of employees will be
soon retiring. "39% of the fish wholesalers were over 45 in 2015, while only
29% in 2007. The number of under 25's
has remained stable. Retiring employees
are not being replaced by young people,"
underlines Peter Samson, general secretary of Union du mareyage français (Union
of French Fish Wholesalers) (see chart).

Répartition des salariés
du mareyage par âge
en 2015
Source : Agefos-PME DADS 2015 -Insee

14 %

45 ans
et plus

13 %

3%
40 à 44

45 à 49 50 à 54 55 à 59 60 et +

As for the fisheries, more than
2,000 sailors will have reached retirement
age by 2020-2021, that is almost a sixth
of the workforce. The situation of fishmongers is no better: "Roughly speaking, 50% are over 40, 20% of whom
are over 55," reckons Emmanuel Lecoz,
project manager for the Union nationale de la poissonnerie française (French
Fishmongers Representatives).
But recruitment is not meant to compensate for departures only. "Our recruitment is mainly related to growth: in
1982, we were six, today we are more
than 700," explains Charlotte Abadie,
general manager for Mericq. As for oyster farmers and salmon smokers, they
must recruit regularly to respond to the
seasonal activity peaks.
Despite relatively attractive salaries,
the sector suffers from a bad image:
working is often hard, in a cold and
humid atmosphere, with shift work, load
carrying, strong smells...The companies
may well go to secondary schools or professional fairs in order to present their
trade but young people do not show up.
"On job forums, we offer young people the opportunity to cut fillets, prepare fish and eat it. The visitors like our
stand but there is no positive outcome
as the parents do not agree to let their
children become fishmongers," regrets

%
The percentage
of fish counter
employees under
25. A figure which
has remained
disappointingly
stable since 2007.

Emmanuel Lecoz. Actions are carried
out in collaboration with the job centre to train unemployed people. Most of
the applicants are changing career and
are over 40. If it's a breath of fresh air
for an employer, it does not really help
to rejuvenate the age pyramid. The sector must strive to attract young people
but also to retain its employees. This
includes the implementation of equipment to reduce work arduousness. An
equipment which will reduce work-related disability and injuries and may give
employees the possibility to remain in
their jobs until they retire. ■

Plus de femmes ?

ne étude parue en 2017 (1) estime que les femmes
représentent moins du tiers des effectifs du secteur, avec de très grandes disparités selon l'activité.
Elle souligne l'importance pour la filière de montrer
que ses métiers, tant sur les navires que dans les entreprises à terre, sont aussi accessibles aux femmes. Pour les
auteures de l'étude, Marie-Christine Monfort et Pascale
Baelde, réaliser ce travail de communication permettrait
aux acteurs de la filière d'élargir leurs voies de recrutement et ainsi de faire face aux nombreux départs en
retraite qui se profilent.
(1) « Place des femmes dans les secteurs pêche et aquaculture en
France », de FranceAgriMer. Disponible sur www.franceagrimer.fr.

PRODUITS DE LA MER N°181 AVRIL 2018

❘ 73 ❘

http://www.franceagrimer.fr

Table des matières de la publication Produits de la mer - n°181 - Avril 2018