Good Practice Project
Seventy percent of seafood sold at the fish auction in Grau d’Agde, southeast France, is exported. To promote local consumption, this joint venture, “Terre et Mer”, has been launched to process fresh, local seafood into ready-to-cook products and ready-made meals. It is a social enterprise that also advocates inclusion for the unemployed by collaborating with the Red Cross to offer work to marginalised citizens under the supervision of a Production Manager and a Development Manager. The frozen food is supplied to local schools and retirement homes, while fresh production is sold to the general local public. The project includes a third component, that of associating seafood products and organic vegetable farming through a common trademark.
The project does not compete with fishmongers or local distribution channels but responds to consumer demand for ready-made meals while encouraging locals to eat seafood caught nearby. Through its operations, Terre et Mer adds value to less-known species that are hard to sell, as well as helping the unemployed to gain work experience and skills in the processing workshop, set up in the fish auction.
This project led to the creation of the first “social inclusion” seafood processing company in the French region of Occitanie. Given its easily transferable statutes and operating procedures, the company can offer an interesting business model for other areas where consumption of locally caught fish is low and unemployment rates are high. Additionally, organisations, such as the Red Cross are present in most of EU Member States and can be key partners for this type of project.
Total project cost | €42 934 |
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FLAG grant |
€42 934
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Beneficiary contribution |
€10 734 |
Timeframe of implementation | From Jan 2020 |
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