Sixth French Fishery Aims For MSC Certification

The FROM Nord, the producers’ organisation of which both companies are members, will support and facilitate the MSC certification process. The organisation also holds the entire French quota for cod (Gadus morhua) and haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) in the northeast Arctic Ocean, a quota which it shares annually between the Compagnie des Pêches Saint Malo and Euronor.

Cod and haddock represent the main harvest of the Compagnie des Pêches Saint Malo trawler, the Grande Hermine. Euronor principally targets North Sea saithe (for which it secured MSC certification in March 2010); the company also operates three freezing trawlers - the Cap Nord, the Klondyke and the Nordic II – also used in the northeast Arctic Ocean cod and haddock fishery.

Euronor’s saithe fishery was the first French fishery to achieve MSC certification and the Compagnie des Pêches Saint Malo is currently undergoing assessment for certification of its own saithe fishery.

Statement from the three partners

“We support our members’ efforts to achieve MSC certification”, said Thierry Missonnier, Director of FROM Nord.

“This is an extension of our efforts to manage our fishing resource sustainably. Our members have already initiated MSC processes for saithe. Since FROM Nord was set up in 1960, we have been working very closely with Euronor and the Compagnie des Pêches Saint Malo to implement consistent and environmentally friendly measures to manage both these stocks. This joint approach is evidence of our will to strengthen our management policies.”

Xavier Leduc, Euronor CEO, commented: “We became the first French fishery to achieve MSC certification in March and we are committed to this path. We want to be in a position to offer a wider range of MSC certified products and help this relatively new ecolabel to develop throughout France. The success of our eco-certification is linked to the MSC’s success in France in that by renewing our commitment and diversifying our range we hope to reach an even larger number of French consumers. Cod and haddock are sought-after species in France and we hope to be in a position to supply the French market with MSC-certified cod and haddock in 2011.”

Martine Edouard, Communications Manager of the Compagnie des Pêches Saint Malo also added: “French consumers are becoming increasingly aware of environmental issues and we want to be able to provide them with scientific proof of our sustainability by means of an independent certification which is recognised worldwide. We hope that MSC certification will also enable us to add value to our products in France and develop the exportation of our products.”