Many fishermen in France are facing serious financial challenges despite being exempt from taxes on diesel fuel. The cost of fuel at the pump has fluctuated dramatically, and fishing with trawls—large nets dragged along the seafloor—requires a great deal of fuel, with few alternatives available. Jérôme Nicol, operational director of Apak, the Artisanal Fishing Equipment of Keroman in Lorient (Morbihan), says, "We are completely stuck." The Breton fishing fleet, which operates five versatile trawlers ranging from 20 to 24 meters that use an average of 1,400 liters of diesel per day, is directly affected by the rise in diesel prices. Fish prices are set at the market, so fishermen cannot increase their selling prices to cover rising costs, and they are also restricted by fishing quotas that limit how much they can catch. Nicol explains, "We are prisoners, we have no leverage." Since the beginning of the year, the tax-exempt blue-dyed diesel used for fishing has nearly doubled in price, reaching an average of 1.21 euros per liter by early October, according to the Amarrée observatory. This has had a significant impact on the fleet and also on crew members, whose wages depend on the revenue from fishing. Nicol estimates that sailors' salaries could decrease by between 200 and 600 euros per month. The reliance on diesel varies among fishermen. Larger vessels that engage in deep-sea trawling and operate far from the coast can use up to 13 times more fuel than an average fishing boat. Olivier Guyader, a researcher at Ifremer, notes that trawling produces large volumes of fish but is extremely energy-intensive. He adds that 25 to 30% of a vessel’s revenue is spent on fuel. Smaller coastal vessels that use line fishing, nets, or traps are less affected by rising fuel prices, though Thomas Le Gall, a line fisherman in Audierne (Finistère), still finds the situation concerning. For these smaller vessels that operate for a day at a time, switching to electric propulsion may be feasible, says Jérôme Jourdain, deputy general secretary of the Union of French Fishing Fleets (UAPF), who contributed to a report on the subject. However, for larger vessels that fish far from the coast for weeks at a time, "I do not see any technology that would allow us to do things differently," he says. "The fuel of the future will be roughly the same as today's." At Apak, experiments are underway to develop hybrid engines or improve the hydrodynamics of trawls, but the expected improvements are limited. "There is no miracle solution," observes Nicol. Olivier Guyader notes that there are definitely savings to be found everywhere, but what could play a big role are the fishing techniques used. He questions whether the fishing fleets are adapted in terms of vessel size and fishing gear. Didier Gascuel, a professor of marine ecology at the Rennes Institute Agro, calls for an "organized dechalutization of the sector" over 20 or 30 years. He believes that this gear is doomed in the long term and that all these boats (that practice trawling) are currently on life support from the state. Since the beginning of the price surge, the government has released more than 30 million euros to help fishermen pay for their diesel. To this is added the tax exemption on diesel, considered a subsidy by the OECD. However, "without the diesel tax exemption, these trawling fisheries would collapse overnight," considers Gascuel. In the short term, shipowners have few options. "Our boats are designed to do the trawling job, not anything else," says Nicol. The challenges faced by the fishing industry highlight the deep reliance on diesel and the difficulty of transitioning to more sustainable practices. While some innovations and changes in fishing methods may offer long-term solutions, they are not yet viable for the current fleet, which remains heavily dependent on fuel prices that continue to rise.