OREANDA-NEWS. Carrefour has just announced the launch of two tinned tuna products fished using the pole and line technique which will be going on sale in its Carrefour and Carrefour Market stores. This fishing technique is more selective and prevents unwanted species from being caught, thus helping to preserve biodiversity. With these new products, Carrefour is honouring its commitment to promoting responsible fishing techniques.

Pole and line fishing – a technique that is less harmful to biodiversity
Carrefour is very much a forerunner when it comes to responsible fishing and is honouring the commitments it has made, implementing new measures to safeguard marine biodiversity. As of May 2015, its Carrefour and Carrefour Market stores have been selling two skipjack and yellowfin tuna products, both fished using the pole and line technique.

Pole and line fishing is a means of preventing unwanted species from being caught, such as dolphins, sharks, turtles and young tuna.

The aim of this initiative is to provide customers with a more responsible fish offering and to provide a solution to two problems associated with marine fishing:
–    fishing tuna that have not yet had the time to reproduce
–    non-selective fishing which can result in unwanted species being caught as well.

A strong and long-term commitment on the part of Carrefour to promote responsible fishing
Preserving the planet's natural resources and safeguarding its biodiversity are key aspects of Carrefour's sustainable development policy. As such, Carrefour is the first French retailer to have implemented a responsible fishing policy. Aware of the need to preserve fish stocks and the ocean floor, Carrefour introduced a range of responsible and sustainable fish products back in 2007.

Carrefour, working alongside its stakeholders, has developed a procurement policy for tinned tuna. Carrefour assesses its supply lines based on:
–    the states of different species in the various fishing zones,
–    the fishing technique used,
–    traceability is checked from the boat right up to the tin

Within the framework of its Sustainable Fishing policy, Carrefour has also stopped selling species of deepwater fish that are under threat (blue ling, emperor, roundnose grenadier and black scabbard, as well as the siki shark, cusk and hake). At the same time, Carrefour is doubling its MSC-certified listings (a certification introduced by the WWF), increasing them from 22 to 50 by the end of 2014.

"An initiative that is moving things in the right direction: sustainable fishing involves more selective techniques that have less of an impact on fish habitats and the species. It also involves fishing stocks that are in good health, maintaining high levels of governance over fishing activities and factoring in the social aspect of fishing. We can assess the sustainability of a fish farm by looking at all of these criteria together", says Jos?phine Labat, head of the sustainable fishing project at WWF France.