Photo credit: EURONOR
French saithe fishery seeks MSC certification
23 February 2009
The EURONOR fleet, based in Boulogne-sur-mer, will be assessed by an independent certifier under the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) environmental standard for sustainable and well-managed wild capture fisheries. It is the second French fishery to enter the MSC's internationally recognized certification programme.
Six EURONOR fishing vessels target saithe. The saithe comes mainly from the northern North sea stock, but also the Norwegian sea. In addition, these vessels make up almost the entire French fleet targeting saithe and represent over 90% of the French quota.
What EURONOR says
Patrice Leduc, President of EURONOR, said : «EURONOR was set up jointly by two large family-owned fishing fleets committed to ensuring responsible fishing to safeguard seafood supplies. That's why the MSC certification is a company-wide project profoundly rooted in our family traditions. We want to get our fishing practices assessed by a third party in order to promote our heritage and add value to our products.
« Our move towards MSC certification is the result of a consultation that started 3 years ago. We considered several certification programmes and seafood ecolabels and we decided to opt for MSC for a number of reasons : including its scientifically robust approach and its international recognition. Moreover, MSC is fast becoming a necessity in the highly competitive markets in which we operate.»
What the MSC says
Nicolas Guichoux, MSC Regional Director – Europe, commented : «The entry of EURONOR in the MSC programme is a milestone for the MSC in France. Saithe is a commercially important species in Europe and especially in France. The Norwegian and German saithe fisheries were awarded the MSC certificate in June and October 2008. We are delighted that the French saithe fishery has come forward to be assessed against the MSC standard for sustainable and well-managed wild capture fisheries. If EURONOR achieves certification, MSC certified saithe from this fishery would be available in France by 2010».
Edouard Le Bart, the MSC Commercial Manager for France added : « If successful, the certification of this fishery will enable us to meet a growing demand for MSC products in the fresh and frozen markets. Saithe is one of the most popular species in France. Nowadays, French buyers and consumers are increasingly looking for products that come from sustainable sources with the assurance of provenance. The MSC's third party assessment scheme offers this.»
The certification body, MacAlister Elliott and Partners Ltd will convene a team of scientific experts who will assess the fishery against the MSC standard. If the fishery meets the MSC standard, its products will be eligible to carry the MSC ecolabel.
MSC labelled products are available across 42 countries. In France, the number of MSC labelled products has almost tripled within a year: from 36 products in February 2008 to 88 in February 2009.
For more information on where to buy MSC-labelled products worldwide, please visit: http://www.msc.org/where-to-buy
About EURONOR
EURONOR, Comptoir des Pêches d’Europe du Nord, was jointly set up in January 2006 by two large fishing vessels owners of Boulogne sur mer, the Société Boulonnaise d’Armement Le Garrec, established in 1929 and Nord Pêcheries, established in 1945. Sharing the same pioneering spirit and values, Le Garrec and Leduc families decided to pool their experience and their knowledge in order to become a major actor of the saithe and deep-sea species fisheries in Europe.
For more information, please contact Bruno Leduc, Deputy CEO on +33 3 21 10 95 95 or by email at bleduc@euronor.fr
Further information
Ce communiqué de presse est disponible en français
For any media inquiries please contact media@msc.org.
