Carrefour : initiatives to promote responsible aquaculture

Developing responsible fishing is a priority for Carrefour - its first initiative dates back to 2005 with the launch of the MSC-certified responsible fishing range.

MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) certification is based on three fundamental principles:
> Stocks should be fished such that fish populations can continue to be replenished;
> Fishing activities should be managed so as to maintain the ecosystem's structure, function and diversity;
> Fisheries must comply with current legislation and should incorporate management systems that enable them to adapt to various changes.

This commitment is now starting to pay off: MSC has just announced that Carrefour sells more MSC-certified own-brand products (75 in total) than any other retailer in France. Furthermore, Carrefour is the only retailer in France that has been selling fresh fish bearing the MSC label at its stalls since 2016. But Carrefour is going further: it also supports the ASC (Agriculture Stewardship Council) label, which rewards fish farms that have adopted best practices, is developing its own responsible product lines with Carrefour Quality Line products, and has stopped selling the most endangered species.

And within the framework of its transformation plan, Carrefour has set itself the target of selling the widest range of responsible fishing products on the market by 2022. At the same time, it wants half of all of the fish it sells to be the result of responsible fishing practices by 2020. This particular commitment is part of its global Act for Food programme. Launched in September, its aim is to establish Carrefour as the global leader in the food transition. Indeed, selecting responsible products is taking action to safeguard the planet's biodiversity!

In order to succeed in meeting its objective, Carrefour is implementing initiatives that involve:
• Giving preference to abundant species, MSC-certified sustainable fishing products and fishing methods that have the least impact on our planet's ecosystems
• Suspending the sale of endangered species
• Developing a responsible approach to aquaculture by selecting fish farms that have adopted good practices and by giving preference to responsible aquaculture ASC-certified products
• Supporting sustainable local fishing through partnerships with local organisations
• Showcasing the diversity of seafood products
• Promoting initiatives to combat illegal fishing

Carrefour is also introducing its own responsible fishing and aquaculture quality lines, made up of products such as mussels, oysters, whelks, salmon, cod, crabs and trout. Furthermore, a new Carrefour Quality Line was introduced in April of this year - Saint-Brieuc Bay Scallops.

Carrefour's commitments on the international stage
In Belgium, the distributor is the one proposing the widest choice of certified fishes MSC or ASC and develop in parallel an organic range, with today five available references. These products of the organic sea are for sale in dedicated and isolated spaces of the other references in the respect for very strict procedures.

Download the infographics about sustainable fishing (pdf 303.58 KB)