"With 75 percent of global fisheries fully or overexploited, aquaculture can help meet some – but not all - of the demand for seafood, while having its own environmental concerns," the organisation said.

"Responsible fish procurement has never been so necessary or so complicated."

The ‘Guide’ seeks to collate the information professionals need for responsible seafood procurement. It is the first of its kind to be published in France, Belgium or Switzerland and provides seafood buyers with environmental and scientific information on over 60 popular fish species.

Elisabeth Vallet, European Director for the Alliance, said the ‘Guide des espèces’ will be a critical tool for the industry to put responsible purchasing at the forefront of its operations.

"The ‘Guide’ presents, beginning with the scientific data available, principal species consumed in France, Belgium and Switzerland. It explores in detail the state of various stocks of the same species, while examining the environmental impacts of catching techniques and aquaculture methods.”

She also said the ‘Guide’ is aimed at anyone with an interest in buying seafood: “Distributors, retailers, wholesalers, fishmongers and chefs and restaurateurs can use this publication. It is for those leading players that are part of the seafood supply chain and who want to take part in safeguarding our marine resources and businesses for future generations.”

Until now, there has been no French-language publication that consolidates all the information available to seafood buyers. The ‘Guide’ also provides an example of key questions to ask suppliers when sourcing seafood.

In December 2007, WWF France launched a campaign for French consumers to increase awareness and knowledge of seafood sustainability issues. Charles Braine, seafood sustainability manager of WWF France, said the ‘Guide’ was a welcome addition to the French marketplace: "Seafood Choices Alliance’s ‘Guide des espèces’ complements WWF’s own work with French consumers. By increasing awareness among seafood buyers and encouraging responsible fish procurement, the ‘Guide’ will help purchasers offer smart choices for consumers to act on.”

Stéphanie Mathey, manager for social and environmental affairs at Group Carréfour, said professionals need a resource like the ‘Guide’.

"The Seafood Choices Alliance has succeeded in taking an extremely complex subject and making a very operational guide. It is usually difficult for purchasers to find in one document the full range of scientific and environmental data and availability on different fish populations. With the ‘Guide’, we can quickly identify threatened populations, as well as alternative species to purchase, and adapt our buying.”

Seafood sustainability has recently been a hot topic in France. A French fishermen’s organisation, AGLIA (Association du Grand Littoral Atlantique), in partnership with CPNMEM, was recently awarded a Seafood Champions award by the Alliance for their work reducing bycatch in the Bay of Biscay nephrops (langoustine) fishery.

www.fishupdate.com is published by Special Publications. Special Publications also publish FISHupdate magazine, Fish Farmer, the Fish Industry Yearbook, the Scottish Seafood Processors Federation Diary, the Fish Farmer Handbook and a range of wallplanners.

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