[Rapport] Impact of the Information and Communication Technologies on the land/sea integration: the case of maritime fishing vessels and of auction sales. Fishing and ICT project.

, by Annabelle Boutet-Diéye, Christine Chauvin-Blottiaux

The Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) have deeply modified the relations between ships and land. Thanks to the ICT (telephones by satellites and, possibly the Internet), a ship (trading vessel, military ship or fishing vessel) at sea is no longer cut off the world : it stays in contact with its armament, with the traffic control stations, with the harbour services. The ICT also allow the sailors to stay in touch with their families. As a consequence, the ICT have modified the sailors’activities in a positive way. From now on, thanks to remote maintenance or to telemedicine, it is possible to use skills which are not present aboard. However, the links maintained with the ground can be perceived like a violation towards the independence of the sailors (e.g. an increase in the control of the trajectories of the ships) and contribute to the drop in value of the work of sailor. The purpose of the study is to bring support to the public decision within the scope of the diffusion of information and communication techniques.

The aim is to make an inventory of fixtures regarding the diffusion of the ICT in the fishing sector and try to measure the impact of the ICT in this sector. The main questions we will want to give an answer to are mentioned below :

What are the ICT used in the maritime fisheries sector and, more precisely, aboard the ship and in the fish market (where the auctions take place) ?

Who are the actors who take part, thanks to the ICT, in the exchange of informations?

Up to what point do the ICT modify the relations to information and decision-making processes, in negotiations (e.g. Fish market) and actions situations (e.g. driving a fishing vessel)?

Is the rise in the availability of informations modifying the management of the fishing sector? If so, what are the nature of these changes? How are they characterized and evaluated?

How do the agents perceive these changes ? Do forms of resistance exist ? If so, how can they be explained and which measures are to be recommend to avoid these blockings?