28 April 2026
A brand-new, 112-metre mega-trawler threatens small-scale fishers
28 April 2026
Atlantic mackerel? Collapsed (1). Blue whiting? Overfished (2). Horse mackerel? One in two stocks collapsed, the other at its lowest level on record (3). This is the catastrophic state of Europe’s marine ecosystems that prompted Dutch multinational Parlevliet & van der Plas to treat itself to a new factory ship to celebrate its 75th anniversary. The Annie Hillina—112 metres long and with a fishing and processing capacity of 400 tons of fish per day (4)—arrived on 15 April in IJmuiden, the Netherlands, for its grand inauguration, which will take place on 8 May. This new ship from hell, which has the same fishing capacity as the world’s largest fishing vessel, the Annelies Ilena, has already been granted fishing permits for all the species mentioned above. As of May, it will therefore be able to actively participate in the ongoing depletion of stockes, before joining the horde of Dutch-owned mega-trawlers that come to plunder French coastal waters every autumn.
A Global Stranglehold
Due to be christened on 8 May in IJmuiden (the Netherlands), the Annie Hillina embodies a reckless technological race towards the destruction of the ocean and small-scale fisheries; a situation that has become untenable in light of the collapse of the natural world and the deep crisis the European fishing sector has been experiencing for years.
Measuring 112 meters long and 21 metres wide (longer than a football pitch and wider than a six-lane motorway), the Annie Hillina, the new “jewel” of the European fleet, will be capable of catching 400 tons of fish per day: the equivalent of a lifetime’s catch for many small-scale fishers. This new “ship from hell” has already been granted fishing permits for a whole range of already overfished species, including herring, mackerel, blue whiting, and horse mackerel. Beyond its activities in the waters of the Northeast Atlantic, relatively close to the French coast, the Annie Hillina will operate on a global scale, notably in West Africa via the fisheries agreement established between the European Union and Mauritania, but also in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Chile.
A factory ship inaugurated amid the collapse of the natural world
The launch of this new behemoth comes despite clear scientific consensus: numerous species of so-called “pelagic” fish, living in the water column and often at the bottom of the marine food chain (these are known as “forage” fish, primarily consumed by marine mammals and a wide variety of birds), are victims of overfishing. This alarming situation has led to significant reductions in catch quotas for 2026: -70% for mackerel, -41% for blue whiting, and -30% for herring.
“No matter what, the Annie Hillina will play its part in the slaughter, which risks accelerating the collapse of fish populations and dragging all European fishers, the vast majority of whom operate along the coast, along with it,” warns Laetitia Bisiaux, co-head of the industrial fishing campaign at BLOOM.
A direct threat to the French coast
This impact on coastal fishers is likely to be felt very acutely in France as early as this winter, since, due to its registration in the Netherlands, the Annie Hillina benefits from historical rights allowing it to operate legally up to 6 nautical miles (approximately 11 km) from the French coastline, in the waters off Normandy and northern France. This new factory ship will therefore pose direct threat of unfair competition to French fishers, whose livelihoods depend on these same species and these same waters. Unlike coastal fishers, who are tied to a specific territory and operate year-round within a limited area, factory ships carry out what amounts to fishing raids, before moving on to a new zone to plunder.
Our demand: an end to overcapacity
In a world where life is rapidly declining, and as wars in Ukraine and Iran demand energy conservation and thus a radical shift in our model, vessels like this have no place in the world. Neither in the French coastal zone in conflict with small-scale fishers, nor off the coast of Scotland starving the northern gannets, nor in West Africa plundering some of the world’s most vulnerable coastal communities. Contrary to the dystopian world proposed by Parlevliet & van der Plas and endorsed by European policymakers, we therefore demand:
- A ban on vessels over 25 meters in the coastal zone, to protect small-scale fishers and the ecosystems on which they depend.
- No quota trading that could benefit these factory ships.
- A plan to phase out factory ships operating in European waters, to put an end to a fishing model incompatible with ecosystem recovery.
Further reading
- The BLOOM petition calling for a ban on vessels over 25 meters within 12 miles and the decommissioning of factory ships has gathered over 80,000 signatures.
- Big Five: France’s largest fishing companies have been acquired or co-founded by the Big Five: Euronor, Compagnie des Pêches Saint-Malo, CFTO, and France Pélagique. Read the Big Five report.
Notes
(1) https://ices-library.figshare.com/collections/ICES_Advice_2025/7488219?q=:keyword:%22mackerel%22