Bay of Seine scallop catch reaches record levels

The 2025-2026 season was an exceptional one for scallop fishers in the Bay of Seine (between Pointe de la Hève in Seine-Maritime and Pointe de Barfleur in the Manche département).

Studies by Ifremer, the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea, revealed that the sector harvested more than 100,000 tonnes of scallops – five times the usual amount.

This makes the Bay of Seine the most productive scallop fishery in Europe.

Thanks to stock management measures, France 3 reported, the coquille Saint-Jacques population has seen a 20-fold increase over the past 20 years.

For years, fishermen in Normandy have self-imposed strict rules to avoid depleting scallop stocks, including the creation of fishing moratoriums – for example, each year, 25% of the Bay of Seine is designated as a no-fishing zone.

In December last year, the bay’s scallop fishery received “Sustainable Fisheries” certification from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), but there are concerns over how climate change will affect stocks in future. “The average temperature of the English Channel has risen by 1.5 degrees over the past 30 years,” said Éric Foucher, a research biologist at Ifremer.

He said that scallops’ reproductive cycle is already being affected by climate change, with spawning occurring earlier and earlier in the year – shifting from May to March. The scallops are also becoming smaller each year, he added.

“While the harvestable biomass is currently at high levels, Ifremer stresses the importance of remaining vigilant in the face of natural population fluctuations and the effects of climate change.”

‘Plundering’ of blueberry fields halted

The French Office for Biodiversity (OFB) has dismantled an illegal blueberry (myrtille) harvesting operation in the Grand Ventron National Nature Reserve, within the Vosges Massif on the border of the Vosges and Haut-Rhin départements in the Grand Est region.

ICI Alsace reported that a law enforcement operation in July led to several searches, the seizure of several thousand euros and the impoundment of a vehicle. The OFB said the investigation was launched following initial findings made in 2025 by nature reserve staff. It denounced “a veritable plundering” of the blueberry fields.

“These organised groups illegally pick blueberries in the mountains before packaging them in dedicated facilities at their homes,” it said.

According to David Petit, head of the OFB’s Northeast-Central Mobile Intervention Brigade, “regulations only allow for family-based picking in areas such as Grand Ventron”, limited to “three litres per person per day, only during daylight hours and without use of a rake.”

Unsold clothing cannot be destroyed

From July 19, it became illegal for retailers across Europe to destroy unsold garments. They must instead improve how they handle returns, promote the resale of unsold items, increase donations or recycle the clothes.

According to estimates, between 4% and 9% of unsold textiles in Europe each year are incinerated, even before they have been worn. The environmental cost is huge, with 5.6 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions produced – equivalent to the emissions from one million cars on the road.

The EU law means that large companies will have to rethink their business models, France Télévisions reported. “We’ll have to figure out how we can potentially reuse them – perhaps by repairing them so they can be reused and sold within our borders. But that also means we’ll have to recycle them,” said Sandra Baldini, director of the consumer division at ecosystem enabler Refashion.

According to the General Council for the Economy, 90% of European second-hand textiles are exported, mainly to Africa, while French consumers set a record for new clothing purchases in 2025.