Fishing for quality and freshness.

Ever since its creation in 1958, the Tallying department of the Etaples Shipping Co-operative (CME), recognised as a Producers Organisation in 1974, has dedicated large-scale resources to optimising the day-to-day management of the fishing effort through properly organised auctioning of freshly caught fish (with 25,000 tons of raw products per year). The CME Tallying department is responsible for the auctioning of all the produce of the flotilla in the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer. The department also provides a complete range of basic services for the shipowner-operators by providing the human and material resources to offload the ships when they come alongside, including the provision of supplies, the management of product packaging, technical support and tide management, as well as economic and financial management and advice. The CME Producers Organisation provides rationalised management services for the fishing effort, and support for shipowner-operators and for the valuation of their production. The Guarantee Fund is available to provide financial backing for certain operations. With the means at their disposal, our departments provide active, operational support for small-scale fishing, thereby enabling responsible management of the sea resource and the quality of our produce.

80 catcher vessels, 25,000 tons of fresh fish caught each year, annual sales of FF 240 million, a crew of 500, and shore staff of 50 working in the Tallying department to support local small-scale fishing, optimise the valuation of its products, and highlight their quality and freshness. Together they form a highly experienced team with large-scale resources in the service of professional fishing.

The CME Tallying Department provides the following services:

• Auctioning in Boulogne-sur-Mer of all the production of the small-scale fishing flotilla for member-producers of the CME (more than 50% of local shipowner-operators).
  
  
• Technical support and services for the ships using large-scale resources in order to cover all the requirements of ships arriving alongside.
  
  
• Economic management of the flotilla, tide management, technical advice and support, modernisation investment, financing, commercial policy and representation.

The main functions of the CME OP are:

• Rational management of the fishing effort:
  - within the guidelines of the Community Fishing Policy (CFP), the CME OP initiates fishing strategies for the entire flotilla,
  - the CME OP manages quotas for sensitive species at both the resource and commercial levels,
  - the CME OP ensures professional fishing practices are respected, by monito-ring fishing rules, maintaining minimum sizes and information feedback.
  
  
• Marketing and valuation of the production of shipowner-operator members of the CME OP by:
  - adopting and applying withdrawal prices and guaranteed prices for producers,
  - price support,
  - developing the identification and quality of seafood products resulting from small-scale fishing,
  - promoting the quality of small-scale fishing through tailored advertising and sales campaigns.
  
  
• Market organisation:
  - announcing and forecasting fish landings
  - market preparation: information exchange throughout the sector at the local, national and international levels,
  - offer concentration,
  - balancing of supply and demand.
  
  The Guarantee Fund is a vital instrument for insuring certain well-identified operations and supporting small-scale fishing in general.