This reference system lists the French professional fishing metiers. The association of gear and target species gives a precise idea of the practices. Mesh size and dimension parameters are associated with this reference system in order to associate the constraints linked to the regulations. These minimum and maximum limits ensure control during the input and validation of observation data. Several types of hierarchical aggregations of these trades currently exist in Harmonie to meet the needs of different public policies. In addition, to limit input errors, the metiers can be regionalised according to sea areas or regions. Thus, a metier observed only in the Mediterranean could not be entered in French Guiana.

This repository was originally constructed by Ifremer and adopted as part of the Data Collection Framework (DCF). From the basic reference system, hierarchical groupings into 6 levels have been constructed and are also stored in Harmonie. Level 6 is the most precise and includes the grids and dimensions imposed by Europe and the presence of a selective system. Level 5 describes metiers composed of a gear and a group of target species (e.g. OTB_DEF = Bottom otter trawl - demersal fish). Level 4 groups metiers by gear (e.g. OTB Bottom otter trawl), level 3 by gear group (TB Bottom trawl), level 2 by gear family (T: Trawl) and level 1 by activity type (ACT Fishing activity). https://datacollection.jrc.ec.europa.eu/wordef/fishing-activity-metier

The reference system for metiers is updated according to requests and after consultation with experts.