French omega-3 firm gets Friend of the Sea seal of approval

The fish are caught by already FoS-certified Moroccan purse seiners in the Eastern Central part of the Atlantic Ocean.

The purse seiners, which mean the boats use vertical fishing nets weighed down by buoys, do not impact the seabed and the target stock is neither overfished nor overexploited.

“The company has a strong and rigorous sustainability management policy and its quality management practices are at the highest levels in the industry,”​ FoS said in a release.

The company’s president David Sussmann said the certification reinforced its “core values and commitment to sustainable fishing”. ​

Founded in 1997, the Seafoodexport group has agreements with Kb Fish, Sepomer, Sovapec, Maromega, Daudruy Van Cauwenberghe and DSM.

It claims to be the leading bulk supplier of small pelagic omega-3 fish oils coming from Morocco accounting for over 60% of the total exports from the country.

20% of products on shelves​

Back in 2012 FoS announced its push to certify more marine-sourced omega-3 sources.

Since then the number of fish oil, meal, feed and omega-3 supplements companies it certifies jumped from 32 companies from 11 different countries to 76 from 23 countries by 2015.

FoS calculates about 35% of worldwide production of omega-3 from wild catch and trimmings is certified by its scheme, with an estimated 20% of products on shelves carrying its logo.

The FOS sustainable check list includes:
 
-Target stock to be not overexploited
-Fishery to generate maximum 8% discards
-No by-catch of endangered species
-No impact on the seabed
-Compliance with regulations (TAC, IUU, FOC, minimum size, etc.)
-Social accountability
-Gradual reduction of carbon footprint

Other standards for the sector include that from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).