France imports two-thirds of its fish

A fish shop proudly boasts of the French origin of the products. But in France, two thirds of the fish are imported. In the trade of fishmonger Charlene Simon, the cod therefore comes from Iceland, and the salmon from Scotland. Both fish are in high demand. “Out of ten customers, there are seven who want cod and salmon. So obviously, we buy a lot more cod and salmon back than mackerel”explains Charlène Simon.

On salmon, the demand is such that the single French breeding is not enough. Quotas are imposed on fishermen to protect the resource. But if we fish less in France, demand remains strong. More than one out of two fish comes from farming. The country raises 5,000 tons a year, but still has to import. A label has been created so that aquaculture respects the environment. Specifications exist for each species, more or less strict. Some NGOs, for example, would like the label to prohibit feeding farmed fish with wild fish.

For our subject, we consulted the assessment produced by the NGO Aquaculture Stewardship Council. We compared the results with the work of another NGO, BLOOM, which works on these issues.

Non-exhaustive list.