A Drift-Net Ban Scares Fishermen...As Overfishing Cuts the Bounty (int'l edition)

Captain Christian Rafin is scanning navigation charts in the pilot house of his tuna boat, the P'tit Loup, or ''L'il Wolf.'' In less than an hour, the jauntily painted purple-and-white boat will leave Port Joinville on Ile d'Yeu for a three-week voyage into the North Atlantic. The six crewmen swap jokes as they crowd into the galley for a farewell toast of anise liqueur. But there's a somber undercurrent. This could be one of the P'tit Loup's last fishing seasons. At the end of 2001, the European Union is set to outlaw the 2.5-kilometer-long drift nets used by the Ile d'Yeu tuna fleet. ''Without these, we can't live,'' says Rafin, pointing to the nets stowed in huge bags near the P'tit Loup's stern.

Economic union is bringing changes all across Europe, but nowhere more than on this tiny, windswept island 25 kilometers off France's Atlantic coast south of Brittany. The drift-net ban, pushed by environmentalists to protect dolphins and sea turtles that get trapped in the nets, is likely to put Ile d'Yeu's $6 million-a-year tuna fleet--France's biggest--out of business. Tuna boats from neighboring Spain will be able to keep fishing because they use longlines rather than nets. But Ile d'Yeu's fishermen say that because of their country's notoriously high taxes, they can't make a profit without the more efficient nets. In the past, sympathetic French officials shielded them from the anti-drift-net lobby. But as Europe integrates, regulatory authority is shifting to Brussels, where they have few allies.

Local authorities on Ile d'Yeu say the ban would devastate a centuries-old way of life. With its sandy beaches and whitewashed villages, Ile d'Yeu resembles many of the scores of small islands along France's Atlantic coast. But while most of the others are deserted in winter, Ile d'Yeu has a year-round population of 5,000. Some 20,000 tourists every summer hop ferries for the hourlong ride from the mainland, but there are few hotels and restaurants. About 40% of the island's residents have fishing-related jobs, from boat mechanics to cannery workers. That suits the islanders fine. ''Tuna fishing is not only our main industry but our culture,'' says Sebastien Chauvet, manager of the local fishermen's committee. ''Without it, we are condemned to become just another theme park.''

It's not just nostalgia that binds Ile d'Yeu to its tuna fleet. The business is lucrative, with each of the 24 boats grossing an average $250,000 in just three or four voyages each summer. Expenses are high: A new tuna boat costs $1 million. Still, a successful captain can save enough in 10 years to go into semi-retirement. And tuna fishing, with its long, risky ocean voyages, is a young man's game. Rafin is 37 and wears Teva sandals, a gold hoop in one ear, and a cell phone strapped to his belt. He's already thinking ahead to the day when his sons, now 10 and 12, may take over.

But unless the drift-net ban is overturned, his sons probably won't have the chance. The Ile d'Yeu fishermen have appealed the ban to an EU tribunal in Luxembourg, but prospects look bleak. EU administrators support the ban, and it has been approved by a majority of European governments. The EU is offering compensation to the Ile d'Yeu fishermen. Rafin says he would get about $300,000. But he says: ''They can keep the money. I want to fish.''

Even without the drift-net controversy, Ile d'Yeu's fishermen would face an uncertain future. All across the North Atlantic, fish stocks are badly depleted after decades of fishing with ever-more-efficient techniques. Catches have declined more than 20% since the mid-1970s, and some species, such as cod and haddock, are nearly wiped out.

Chauvet says that if drift nets are banned, Ile d'Yeu fishermen may switch from relatively plentiful tuna to other species, such as sole and hake, that are in greater danger. Proponents of the ban ''say they're trying to protect the environment, but they could create another problem,'' he says. That, in turn, could provoke another fight with Brussels. The EU has urged member countries to trim their fishing fleets by as much as 40% to prevent overfishing, but so far most countries haven't acted. If overfishing continues, Brussels may take a tougher stance. And preserving Ile d'Yeu's heritage could become even more difficult.

By Carol Matlack on Ile d'Yeu