French supermarket chain Intermarché has said it remains committed to landing and processing its own fish and seafood even after a fire destroyed one of its plants in Brittany.

A blaze hit a plant operated by Intermarché’s Capitaine Houat subsidiary in the Breton fishing port of Lorient on Monday (8 August).

The administration block is intact but the production area was destroyed in the blaze. Intermarché operates a fleet of 16 fishing boats and works out of Boulogne sur Mer, Concarneau and Lorient, where it accounts for one fifth of the fish that is registered at the port’s auction.

Last year, Capitaine Houat supplied members with nearly 24,000 tonnes of fish and seafood products, with just under half that tonnage coming from the Keroman site at Lorient. The Mousquetaires, which owns the Intermarché banner, has a long-established fishing fleet and the retailer remains committed to challenging Carrefour and E.Leclerc for market share in the seafood sector.