German retailer Kaufland today presented a cheque worth EUR 100,000 to the Gambian artisanal tonguesole fishery. The presentation took place at the MSC stand at the European Seafood Exposition in Brussels. The generous donation is the result of in-store initiatives that Kaufland ran in 2011 and 2012, when it appealed to customers to look out for the blue MSC ecolabel when buying fish and to make environmentally conscious buying decisions. For every kilo of MSC labelled fish sold during the campaign, Kaufland donated 50 euro cents at over 100 stores with fresh fish counters across Germany. It is this collected sum that is now being donated to the African fishery. With its donation Kaufland is helping to improve the situation of the Gambian fishers and helping finance their upcoming assessment against the MSC standard for sustainable fisheries.
What Kaufland says
Hergen Blase, head of Kaufland’s sustainability/CSR division, said, “Kaufland has an extensive purchasing policy with a focus on sustainably caught fish emphasising the MSC ecolabel. It is wonderful to see the determination and motivation with which the fishers in the Gambia are working towards making their activities sustainable. Following certification, we plan to offer MSC-labelled tonguesole from the Gambia in our shops to expand our range of certified sustainably caught fish. I very much hope that our donation will help give the sole fishers in the Gambia greater financial and social security in the future.”
What NASCOM says
Dawda Saine, Secretary General of the National Sole Fishery Co-Management Committee (NASCOM), added, “The tonguesole fishers of the Gambia are very grateful to Kaufland for its generous support. We will use the money to carry out projects that will make the fishers’ daily lives easier, such as buying rescue boats, cool boxes and pushcarts. We will also pay part of the costs of the upcoming MSC-assessment, which we have been working towards for a number of years and which we hope will secure our income.”
About the Gambian fishery
Over 500 fishers navigate the River Gambia and the Gambian coastline in canoes every day to catch tonguesole (Cynoglossus senegalensis). Traditional fishing is one of the main sources of income in the Gambia and most of the fish is exported to Europe. In preparation for the MSC assessment, the fishery has already done some important work in collaboration with various partners. It has collected detailed information on the status of the tonguesole stock as well as the share and composition of the fishery’s bycatch. It has also drawn up a management plan designed to ensure that the tonguesole stock is managed and fished in a responsible, sustainable manner.
What MSC says
Rupert Howes, the Chief Executive of the MSC welcomed Kaufland’s innovative and generous support for the Gambian tonguesole fishery’s transition towards MSC certification. He remarked: "This is a fantastic example of how market demand for sustainable seafood choices can lead to practical actions and investments that lead to improving the way our oceans are fished. I congratulate both Kaufland for their leadership and the Gambian tonguesole fishers for their commitment to sustainability. This is great news for the fisheries and coastal communities in the Gambia, the marine environment and consumers".
About Kaufland
The Kaufland Group operates over 1.600 hypermarkets in Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria. It is based in Neckarsulm in southern Germany. Ecological and social responsibility is an important part of Kaufland’s corporate policy and includes making sure the fish range is sustainable. The company has for years been committed to conserving fish stocks, thereby helping to maintain biodiversity in the world’s oceans. Among the products Kaufland offers its customers a varied range of up to 400 products bearing the MSC ecolabel – from fresh fish to frozen, tinned and delicatessen products. To support a sustainable fish consumption, Kaufland promotes MSC-labelled products in store also by showing a world ball at shelfs and fresh fish counters. In this way, Kaufland draws attention to MSC-labelled and other sustainable products.
Further information about Kaufland’s environmental and social responsibility commitments can be found at www.kaufland.de/verantwortung (in German).
About NASCOM and its partners
The National Sole Fishery Co-management Committee (NASCOM) was formed in September 2010. The NASCOM envisages the responsible and safe exploitation of sole fish for conservation, management, protection and development of the fisheries resources for now and the future generation. Further the NASCOM envisages the conservation and sustainable management of the sole fishery to enhance food production, poverty reduction, and improve livelihoods of fishing communities. The NASCOM aims to ensure that The Gambian sole reaches international quality standards and also curb illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing). NASCOM works with different partners (GAMFIDA, Department of Fisheries, BA NAFAA, The Atlantic Seafood Company, University of Rhode Island, USAid) to get prepared for the MSC assessment.
For more Information
Please contact MSC Regional Office Berlin: [email protected] or +49 (0)30 609 8552-10