French retailer Carrefour is offering financial support towards the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification of FROM Nord’s Eastern Channel and North Sea sole fishery.
This is the first time in France that a retailer has offered its financial support to a fishery beginning an assessment.
Thierry Missonnier, director of producers' organisation FROM Nord, said, “We were thinking about beginning assessment of the sole fishery to promote its good practices when Carrefour contacted us to support our approach".
FROM Nord’s North Sea saithe, North East Arctic cod and haddock fisheries are already certified, and evaluation of the Eastern Channel and North Sea herring fishery has begun.
Hervé Gomichon, Director of Quality and Sustainable Development at Carrefour Group, said, “With strong commitments made with regard to the preservation of marine resources, Carrefour keeps contributing to the development of responsible fishing. We wished to support the commitment made by the French fishing industry in favour of sustainable and responsible fishing by sponsoring the MSC assessment of the Eastern Channel and North Sea sole fishery. If the fishery receives the MSC certification, we will be able to offer MSC-labelled French sole to our customers”.
The Eastern Channel and North Sea sole (Solea solea) is fished using 10-17m long fishing boats and trammel nets in an area located between the Belgian border and the Cherbourg tip. This artisanal fishery, supported by FROM Nord, consists of 85 fishing vessels spread over five ports in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Haute Normandie regions.
Sole is one of the most significant species for the organisation, with regards to volume (1,990 tonnes in 2013), and in recent years has been the leading species in terms of value. The sole is well known for its high quality, and most landings of are sold at auction sales, with some reserved for direct sale to individuals.
If the fishery meets the MSC's environmental standard, it could become the first French sole fishery to become MSC-certified.
