Study for the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy (MEDDE - Ministère de l’Écologie, du Développement Durable et de l’Énergie)

In 2004, Ifremer conducted a study for the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy (MEDDE) entrusted Ifremer aimed at identifying areas of least concern where the exploitation of marine aggregates would be possible with regard to fisheries resources and activities and the biological environment.

  • The study took place over two periods:
    • 2005 - 2009 on the "East Channel" and "Loire-Gironde" maritime façades, off 11 coastal departments;
    • 2010 - 2012 on the "Brittany" and "South Biscay" maritime façades, off the coast of six coastal departments.
  • Simultaneously, the BRGM was commissioned to carry out a study on the mineral resources of the terrestrial zones of these same departments.

These two studies have been assembled in a Geographic Information System (GIS) guaranteeing the integration, harmonisation and interoperability of the collected data.

The results are available here: http://sextant.ifremer.fr/fr/web/geosciences_marines/projets/granulats

The study was divided into three sectors:

  • material resources ;
  • benthic fauna;
  • fisheries resources and exploitation.