Sapmer has just signed the sale of two tuna boats under the Seychelles flag to the Spanish group Pevasa. The operational tuna fleet of the Réunion shipping company will now consist of three tuna vessels under the French flag and three tuna vessels under the Mauritian flag.. A fourth tuna boat under the French flag, the Manapany, was shut down last year due to the health crisis and Sapmer is now looking to sell it. The equipment specialized in toothfish and lobster fishing in Taaf waters since 1947 diversified into tuna fishing around ten years ago., based in Seychelles and Mauritius where part of its fishing is valued in its installations. Sapmer was hit hard by the pandemic in 2020, which ended with a heavy loss (24,5 million euros) and a drop in its turnover to 112 million (compared to 165 million the previous year). “Our main toothfish markets, of lobster and valorized tuna have been very slowed down by confinements and the almost total shutdown of the restaurant and hotel industry, indicated the armament on April 30 in comment on its bad figures. We also had to face complex issues to ensure our crew changes., which remain a daily challenge with fishing days lost again in 2021 but in lesser proportions than last year”. Adrien de Chomereau, its CEO, believes today that the post-Covid recovery is looming. The armament is also called to leave the Jaccar perimeter, the holding company of Jacques de Chateauvieux, in four years at the latest. Jaccar's backup plan, accepted by the Marseille commercial court on August 11, leaves this period for the agent to sell the assets, of which Sapmer is a part.
