For more than 60 years, Cannery Gonidec, a familial french seafood cannery, has been concerned about its impact on the environment and in particular, the marine ecosystem.
This article aims to put forward Gonidec’s own responsible fishing charter, that counts several demanding criteria.
What is the responsible fishing charter?
As part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) approach, the Cannery has strengthened its policy of purchasing fish from responsible fishing:
- by monitoring the preservation of available marine bio-resources: monitoring the state of marine stocks and the impact of our tonnage put into production and future needs,
- by a strong commitment with our suppliers (fisheries, fishmongers, traders, etc.) in a global CSR approach: certification of their compliance with the conventions of the RFMOs (Regional Fisheries Management Organisations), certification of exclusion, commitment to an improvement approach, etc.
- by following Responsible fishing by species of fish (sardines, anchovies, mackerel, tuna)
The Gonidec cannery is audited each year by an independent third party body to verify compliance with these criteria, during the audits of the Cannery Charter.
The responsible fishing charter is visible on each can through a specific logo.
Discover the logo on the packaging of canned sardines or fish rillettes.
Cannery Gonidec Purchasing Policy | Responsible fishing charter
Responsible fishing charter: Local, responsible, sustainable and traceable fishing
The procedure applies for any referencing of a marine supplier (excluding farmed fish), checked at each supply and for any project to develop a new recipe.
- Local landings:
We favour local landings, in keeping with respect marine resources and the impact on the environment.
More than 80% of our fish is caught off the coast of Concarneau. As our cannery is located near the port of Concarneau, we can immediately check the quality of the freshly landed fish at the fish auction and validate or not the purchase.
- Responsible supply:
Responsible purchasing starts with commitment and partnership with fishermen and fish wholesalers.
Our policy of buying fish from responsible fishing also means:
- Choosing abundant species, and avoiding sensitive species,
- Respecting responsible fishing zones and techniques,
- Selecting the fish wholesalers, fishermen and processors according to good practices,
- Fighting against illegal fishing.
We meet with various suppliers to ensure effective fishing practices, and we participate in exchange meetings with marine experts who measure impacts on the ecosystem. This continuous improvement process enables us to strengthen our supply policy, in line with the ethics of our Gonidec Cannery.
- Responsible fishing techniques:
The Gonidec Cannery does not have its own fishing boats, but we are very attentive to the techniques used by our suppliers. Responsible and sustainable fishing is essential to the sustainability of our activity.
We impose strict requirements formalised by specifications that each of our suppliers must sign, in which all our requirements are stipulated in order to encourage fishing that respects biodiversity: technical and fishing areas prohibited, prohibition of FADs (Fish Aggregation Device).
These techniques also help to reduce waste by avoiding, on the one hand, that the fish are packed and do not spoil each other, and on the other hand, the involuntary catch of other fish species. The fish selected by the Gonidec Cannery are thus caught with the greatest respect for the resource and animal welfare.
