
The Western Coast
The species listed bellow are divided into 3 categories of varying levels of sustainability:
GREEN = "Preferred Choice"
Stocks are healthy. Individuals are fished or farmed in an environmentally friendly way. The fishery is well managed.
ORANGE = "Recommended Alternative"
Stocks are healthy but improvement could be seen in the fishing and farming techniques being used to assure their sustained productivity. Other factors (pollution, habitat destruction,...) may pose added threats to the well-being of wild populations.
RED = "To be Avoided"
Stocks are unhealthy and managed in an unsustainable fashion. Farming and fishing techniques used are harmful to the environment. Avoid all purchases until stocks recover and conditions improve.

Scientific Name - Clupea harengus harengus
French Common Name - Hareng
Habitat - benthopelagic; brackish and marine; depth range 0-364 m
Diet - copepods and small fishes
Fishing Gear
- Primarily: seine, set net, drift net, trammel
Species under quota
Fisheries status
In response to a long history of overexploitation, the Atlantic herring fishery is now being very closely monitored and fishing authorities have taken drastic measures to try and minimize bycatch of juveniles. Nonethless, certain stocks still suffer from highly variable recruitment rates and degraded nursery grounds, it is therefore best to choose from the stocks labeled sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
The herring plays a key role in the oceanic food web, both as a prey and as a predator, which makes the sustainable exploitation of this species especially important.
The Thames-Blackwater Herring Driftnet fishery, Hastings Fleet Pelagic Herring fishery, Pelagic Freezer Trawler Association (PFA), Astrid Fiske North Sea herring fishery, Norway North Sea and Skagerrak herring fishery, Norway spring spawning herring fishery, SPSG North Sea herring fishery, DPPO Atlanto Scandian herring fishery and the Danish Pelagic Producers Organisation North Sea herring fishery have been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) as well-managed and sustainable.
------------------------------
Sources:
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
Ifremer. Pour une pêche durable. (2008)
http://wwz.ifremer.fr/pecheccsti/layout/set/print/la_peche_et_ses_acteurs/la_gestion/combien/quotas/hareng
MSC. Herring (2008)
http://www.msc.org/cook-eat-enjoy/fish-to-eat/herring
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/

Scientific Name - Salmo trutta, Oncorrhynchus mykiss
French Common Name - Tuite arc-en-ciel; Truite fario
Habitat - pelagic; marine, brackish and freshwater; live in freshwater all their lives or migrate to the sea and return to fresh water to spawn
Diet - plankton, fish eggs, water- dwelling insects, minnows and small crustaceans
Aquaculture - basins on land
Trout production is one of Europe’s oldest aquaculture. It is therefore fairly well managed.
The increased occurrence of pollution, parasites, habitat degradation and obstructed migration routes (mainly due to dams and water turbines)
Trouts are rarely eat other fish, feeding them therefore does not have a large impact wild fish populations.
------------------------------
Sources:
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
Ifremer. Pour une pêche durable. (2008)
http://wwz.ifremer.fr/pecheccsti/layout/set/print/la_peche_et_ses_acteurs/la_gestion/combien/quotas/hareng
MSC. Herring (2008)
http://www.msc.org/cook-eat-enjoy/fish-to-eat/herring
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/

Scientific Name - Spondyliosoma cantharus
French Common Name - Dorade grise
Habitat - benthopelagic; marine; over seagrass beds and rocky/sandy bottoms to about 300m deep
Diet - omnivorous, feed on seaweeds and small invertebrates, especially crustaceans
Fishing Gear
Primarily: trolling, hand-line
Fisheries status
Most stocks are healthy, however the black seabream is a slow growing species, which makes it especially vulnerable to overfishing.
Born as females, black sea breams turn into males around age 8. This biological trait makes the species especially vulnerable to overfishing since a balanced presence of both young and older individuals is essential to their wellbeing.
Favor fish caught by hand-line.
------------------------------
Sources:
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/

Scientific Name - Scomber spp.
French Common Name - Maquereau
Habitat - pelagic-neritic; brackish and marine; depth range 0 - 1000 m; usually 0 - 200 m
Diet - worms, small crustacean and small fishes
Fishing Gear
Primarily: bottom and midwater trawler, hand line, long line, net
Species under quota
Minimum commercial size - 30 cm (North Sea), 20 cm (North East Atlantic),18 cm (Mediterranean)
Fisheries status
The North East Atlantic stock has healthy recruitment rates, however it has been deemed unsustainable by the CIEM due to data deficiency.
The Bitish South-west handline mackerel fishery has been certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship council (MSC)
To protect juveniles, a “maquerel box” was set up off the UK South West peninsula, where an important mackerel nursery ground lies. Inside this region, fish catch is limited.
------------------------------
Sources:
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/

Scientific Name - Melanogrammus aeglefinus
French Common Name - Eglefin
Habitat - demersal; marine; depth range 50-300 m
Diet - small fishes and bottom dwelling invertebrates
Fishing Gear
Primarily: bottom trawler, seine, long line, net
Species under quota
Minimum commercial size - 27 cm (Kattegat and Skagerrak); 30 cm (everywhere else)
Fisheries status
Stocks from the North Sea and Kattegat and Skagerrak are harvested in a sustainable fashion. In the waters surrounding Island, though the reproductive biomass is high, the stock is currently overexploited.
Since1997, trawlers used in the Barent Sea must be equipped with a grid system that enables juveniles and undersized fished to escape the nets.
------------------------------
Sources:
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
Greenpeace. Et ta Mer t’y penses?
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/france/presse/dossiers-documents/et-ta-mer-t-y-penses.pdf
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/

Scientific Name - Dicentrarchus labrax
French Common Name - Bar commun / Loup
Habitat - demersal; fresh, brackish and marine water; depth range 10-100 m; lives in the littoral zone on various kinds of bottoms in estuaries, lagoons and occasionally rivers
Diet - shrimp, mollusks, small fishes
Fishing Gear
- Primarily: long line, net (in the bay of Biscay)
- Occasionally: bottom trawler, seine
bottom trawlers are used during spawning season
Minimum commercial size - 36 cm (Atlantic); 30 cm (Mediterranean Sea)
Aquaculture - floating cages (Mediterranean); ponds on land (Atlantic Coast)
Fisheries status
Even though scientific data is lacking concerning the geographic range of each stock, fishing mortality rates and commercial captures, these stocks seem healthy. According to the CIEM, the sea bass populations can, without risk, tolerate current levels of exploitation.
Avoid sea bass caught by trawlers (especially during breeding season,
which takes place from January to March).
Avoid fish smaller than 40 cm in length, because even though
the legal catch sizes are set bellow that figure, reproductive females
don’t usually lay their first clutch before age 7 (41cm).
The North Eastern Sea Fisheries Committee (NESFC) sea bass fishery has been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council as well-managed and sustainable
------------------------------
Sources:
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
Greenpeace. Et ta Mer t’y penses?
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/france/presse/dossiers-documents/et-ta-mer-t-y-penses.pdf
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/

Scientific Name - Ostrea edulis
French Common Name - Huître plate
Habitat - brackish water; attaches to rocks, debris or other oyster shells at depths of between 5 and 40m; also found on mud or mud-sand bottoms.
Diet - feeds on planktonic and minute detrital food items
Aquaculture - raised in open ocean (floating trays or rafts, suspended rope, lanterns or plastic baskets hung from the rafts, intertidal trestles and oyster bags)
During the 20th century, the flat oyster populations living along the coasts of France were hit by epizooty (a disease affecting many animals at the same time). Levels have remained low ever since.
Research is being carried out to provide farms with a strain resistant to Bonamiasis (a disease presently threatening the flat oyster). Until then, it is unlikely that we will see any increase in production.
The success of oyster farms is highly dependent on the quality of the water. Changes in temperature, pH, and pollution levels have a direct impact on recruitment and growth rates.
------------------------------
Sources:
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
FAO. Ostrea edulis.
http://www.fao.org/fishery/culturedspecies/Ostrea_edulis/en

Scientific Name - Crassostrea gigas
French Common Name - Huître creuse
Habitat - brackish water; attaches to rocks, debris or other oyster shells at depths of between 5 and 40m; also found on mud or mud-sand bottoms
Diet - feeds on planktonic and minute detrital food items
Aquaculture - mesh-bottomed tubs
70 to 80% of spat are collected from wild populations, and the remaining 20 to 30% are grown in hatcheries.
------------------------------
Sources:
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
photo:
http://www.letelegramme.com/images/2010/03/05/811421_huitres.jpg

Scientific Name - Cardium edule
French Common Name - Coque
Habitat - marine and brackish water; inhabit the middle and lower shore; burrow down no deeper than 5cm into the sand, mud and muddy gravel
Diet - filter feeder
Fishing Gear
Primarily: Fishing on foot
Minimum commercial size - 27 mm
Aquaculture - raised in the wild (in the Croisic region)
Fisheries status
Well monitored and well regulated.
------------------------------
Sources:
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf

Scientific Name - Maja squinado
French Common Name - Araignée de mer
Habitat - demersal; marine and brackish water; depth range 0-120 m, usually found above 70m in depth
Diet - macroalgae and benthic invertebrates with little or no mobility
(i.e. chitons, gastropods, bivalves, echinoderms, echinoid, solitary ascidians,...)
Fishing Gear
- Primarily: trap and bottom net
- Occasionally: bottom trawler
used between August and October in the Western English Channel, bottom trawlers trample the species nurserie grounds
Species under quota
Minimum Commercial Size - 120 mm
Fisheries Status
The European spinous spider crab populations have been stable despite the fact that no quota is in place. This fishery is therefore deemed sustainable.
It is important to note that since:
- 80% of catches come from the same generation of individuals,
- the majority of catches take place before hatching season,
- increasing the fishing effort decreases the mean size of individuals),
- and clutch size is directly proportional to female size;
an intensification of the fishing effort is likely to lower the reproductive
biomass and recruitment rates, causing this fisheries to be unsustainable.
------------------------------
Sources:
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Ifremer. Araignée de mer.
http://www.ifremer.fr/francais/produits/poisson/araignee/marin-araignee.htm
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
photo:
http://www.ifremer.fr/francais/produits/poisson/araignee/marin-araignee.htm

Scientific Name - Pandalus borealis
French Common Name - Crevette nordique
Habitat - demersal; marine and brackish; from the middle shore down to submerged depths of around 150m; typically buries in the sand
Diet - omnivorous: crustaceans, annelid worms, algae, dead fish, etc.
Fishing Gear
Primarily: bottom trawler
Fisheries status
The stocks from the North Atlantic are fully exploited but not endangered.
------------------------------
Sources:
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf

Scientific Name - Crangon crangon
French Common Name - Crevette grise
Habitat - demersal; marine and brackish; from the middle shore down to submerged depths of around 150m; typically buries in the sand
Diet - omnivorous: crustaceans, annelid worms, algae, dead fish, etc.
Fishing Gear
Primarily: trap and net
Occasionally: bottom trawler
Fisheries status
Stocks are fully exploited but not endangered.
On the Normandy Coast, shrimp are caught in the littoral zone by bottom trawlers. Since littoral zones serve as nursery grounds for a number of species, this technique is very disruptive and leads to high levels of bycatch of juveniles (of both shrimp and other species).
Favor shrimp caught with nets and traps.
------------------------------
Sources:
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf

Scientific Name - Merlangius merlangus
French Common Name - Merlan
Habitat - demersal; marine; depth range 0-200 m, usually found between 30 and 100 m; sandy, rocky and muddy bottoms
Diet - voracious hunter, feeds mainly on crustaceans, small fishes, worms and cephalopods (in the largest individuals)
Fishing Gear
Primarily: bottom trawlers (in the Celtic Sea: caught with cod, de Haddock, plaice and lobster), pelagic trawler, seine, net, long line
Species under quota
Minimum commercial size - 23 cm (Northern Baltic Sea, Skagerrak and Kattegat); 27 cm (everywhere else)
Fisheries status
In the Celtic Sea: the stock is not currently overexploited, the reproductive biomass still stands high, but it is likely to reach overexploitation in the near future unless management is improved. Changes must be made to increase intra-specific selectivity (i.e. lower the bycatch of juveniles and individuals smaller than the legal catch size) and the legal quota must be lowered in order to make this fishery sustainable.
In the North Sea and Eastern English Channel: Due to very high levels of exploitation in the late 90’s, the reproductive biomass is currently very low so the current fishing mortality may lead to stock collapse. It is therefore necessary to reduce fish landings in order to keep the percentage of fisheries-lead mortalities low.
The practice of “high-grading” (discarding fish in view of a higher size or price catch) is widespread in this species’ fisheries. The discard of juvenial, dead or damaged indivuals represents up to 80% of total catches in certain fisheries.
------------------------------
Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Ifremer. Pour une pêche durable. (2008)
http://wwz.ifremer.fr/pecheccsti/layout/set/print/la_peche_et_ses_acteurs/la_gestion/combien/quotas/hareng
Ifremer. La Fiche du mois: Merlan. (2000)
http://www.ifremer.fr/francais/produits/poisson/merlan/marin_merlan_celt_2000mai.pdf
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/

Scientific Name - Sebastes marinus; Sebastes mentella
French Common Name - Grand sébaste / Dorade-sébaste; Sébaste du Nord / Rascasse du Nord
Habitat - pelagic; marine and brackish water; depth range 100-1000 m; juveniles found in fjords, bays and inshore waters
Diet - feed mostly on krill in summer; herrings in autumn and winter; capelins, herrings, krill and comb jellies in spring
Fishing Gear
Primarily: bottom trawler, gill net, long line, seine
Occasionally: hand line
Species under quota
Fisheries status
In the Barent Sea and the Norwegien Sea stocks levels have reached historical lows. All stock for this fishery are currently overexploited.
20% of catches is thought to be from illegal sources.
Because of their slow growth rate (sexual maturity is reached around age 10) and high longevity (60 years +) , ocean perches are especially vulnerable to overexploitation.
------------------------------
Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
World Register of Marine Species (WORMS). Sebastes marinus (Linnaeus, 1758) (2009)
htp://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=127253
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/
photo:
http://www.fiskbasen.se/images/sebastes_marinus.jpg

Scientific Name - Salmo salar
French Common Name - Saumon de l’Atlantique
Habitat - marine, brackish and freshwater; adults return to natal rivers to spawn
Diet - feed on squid, sand eels, amphipods, shrimp, herring, sand lace, smelt, etc.
Fishing Gear
Primarily: bottom trawlers
Occasionally: line, net
During spawning season.
Species under quota
Aquaculture - open ocean floating cages
Salmon farms are often source of environmental degradation and disease spread and release of captive individuals into wild populations.
Salmon need to swim up rivers in order to spawn, unfortunately, habitat degradation and dam constructions have rendered this task difficult and severely impacted recruitment rates for this species.
Salmon born from a cross between a wild individual and a farmed individual have lost their ability to swim up rivers to spawn.
------------------------------
Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Dumas J, Prouzet P, Porcher J.P., Davaine P (1979). Etat des connaissances sur le saumon en France. Journées d’étude "Aquaculture extensive et repeuplement" - Brest, 29-31 mai 1979. http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/6054/
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/
photo:
http://www.seafoodfromnorway.com/page?id=103&key=2499

Scientific Name - Thunnus alalunga
French Common Name - Thon germon / Thon blanc
Habitat - pelagic-oceanic; marine; depth range 0 - 600 m, found in surface waters of all warm oceans
Diet - opportunistic feeders, feed on crustaceans, cephalopods and fishes
Fishing Gear
Primarily: net, long line, beam trawler
Occasionally: hand line
Fisheries status
Stocks worldwide are either fully exploited or overexploited. No stock is on the verge of collapse but the worldwide fishing effort on the albacore tuna must be lessened in order to exploit this resource in a sustainable fashion.
Favor tuna fished by hand lines (Atlantic) and long lines (Pacific)
------------------------------
Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Greenpeace. Et ta Mer t’y Penses? (2006)
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/france/presse/dossiers-documents/et-ta-mer-t-y-penses.pdfh
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/
photo:
http://www.zipcodezoo.com/hp350/Thunnus_alalunga_8.jpg

Scientific Name - Sparus aurata
French Common Name - Dorade royale
Habitat - demersal; brackish and marine; depth range 1-150 m, usually found down to 30 m; lives in seagrass beds and sandy bottoms as well as in the surf zone
Diet - mainly carnivorous; feeds on shellfish, including mussels and oysters
Fishing Gear
Primarily: trawlers, long line, net, trammel
Occasionally: hand line
Minimum commercial size - 20 cm (Mediterranean Sea); none for aquacultured individuals
Aquaculture - floating cages at sea; ponds on land
Fisheries status
Populations are increasing in the Atlantic waters surrounding Western Europe.
Born as males, black sea breams turn into females around age 8. This biological trait makes the species especially vulnerable to overfishing since a balanced presence of both young and older individuals is essential to keep viable recruitment rates.
------------------------------
Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/

Scientific Name - Dicentrarchus labrax
French Common Name - Bar commun / Loup
Habitat - demersal; fresh, brackish and marine water; depth range 10-100 m; lives in the littoral zone on various kinds of bottoms in estuaries, lagoons and occasionally rivers
Diet - shrimp, mollusks, small fishes
Aquaculture - floating cages (Mediterranean); ponds on land (Atlantic Coast)
------------------------------
Sources:
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
Greenpeace. Et ta Mer t’y penses?
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/france/presse/dossiers-documents/et-ta-mer-t-y-penses.pdf
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/

Scientific Name - Trachurus trachurus; Trachurus mediterraneus
French Common Name - Chinchard commun; Chinchard a queue jaune
Habitat - pelagic-neritic; marine; depth range 0-1050 m, usually found between 100 and 200 m
Diet - fish, crustaceans, cephalopods
Fishing Gear
Primarily: pelagic and bottom trawler
Occasionally: seine, set net, trammel
Species under quota
Minimum commercial size - 15 cm
Fisheries status
The horse mackerel is abundant in the Eastern Atlantic but the status of the stocks remains uncertain. Very little is known about the recruitment rates and fishing mortalities associated with these populations. It is therefore wise to adopt the precautionary approach and keep the fishing effort at or below current levels.
The minimum commercial size is set to 15 cm whereas individuals do not reach sexual maturity until they are approximately 26 cm long.
Favor individuals of more than 25 cm in length.
------------------------------
Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Ifremer. Pour une pêche durable. (2008)
http://wwz.ifremer.fr/pecheccsti/layout/set/print/la_peche_et_ses_acteurs/la_gestion/combien/quotas/hareng
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/
photo:
http://www.gastromer.ch/images/produits/chinchard.jpg

Scientific Name - Thunnus albacares
French Common Name - Thon albacore / Thon jaune
Habitat - pelagic-oceanic; marine; found in surface waters of all warm oceans
Diet - opportunistic feeders, feed on crustaceans, cephalopods and fishes
Fishing Gear
Primarily: seine (Indian Ocean), long line (Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean)
The use of Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) to attract tuna in the purse seine fisheries results in high levels of bycatch of non-target individuals (i.e. sharks, sea turtles, juvenile yellowfin and bigeye tuna)
Species under quota
Fisheries status
Stocks worldwide are either fully exploited or overexploited. In the Western Tropical Atlantic, the yellow-fin tuna stock is threatened with collapse. Despite the high level of yellow-fin tuna populations, the fishing effort worldwide must be lessened in order to exploit this resource in a sustainable fashion.
In the Indian Ocean, drift nets are often used to catch yellowfin tuna.
------------------------------
Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/
photo: http://www.manufacturer.com/images/product/www.alibaba.com/0321/n/11207970_Yellow_Fin_Tuna.jpg

Scientific Name - Merluccius merluccius
French Common Name - Merlu / Colin / called merlan off the Mediterranean Coast
Habitat - demersal; marine; depth range 30-1075 m; it lives close to the bottom during day-time, but moves off- bottom at night
Diet - adults feed mainly on fish (small hakes, anchovies, pilchard, herrings, cod fishes, sardines and gadoid species) and squids
Fishing Gear
Primarily: bottom trawlers (Mediterranean Sea); gill nets, lobster trawlers and pelagic trawlers (North Atlantic); often caught as bycatch in the lobster fisheries
Species under quota
Minimum commercial size - 27 cm (North East Atlantic); 30 cm (Skagerrak and Kattegat); 20 cm (Mediterranean)
Fisheries status
In the North-Eastern Atlantic (data from 2007): these fisheries are currently well managed but not yet sustainable. Drastic measures were taken in 2001 to try and save the wild stocks, larger mesh sizes were imposed on all trawlers targeting this species. In 2004, a recovery plan was put in place to increase the reproductive biomass and recruitment rates. And in 2005, selective trawlers for the fisheries of the lobster were made mandatory.
In the South of the North East Atlantic: theInternational Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) recommended, in 2007, to close fishing in this region.
In the Mediterranean: Due to the very high levels of juvenile bycatch, this stock is deemed overexploited.
Favor individuals issued from the North-East Atlantic fisheries.
------------------------------
Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Ifremer. Pour une pêche durable. (2008)
http://wwz.ifremer.fr/pecheccsti/layout/set/print/la_peche_et_ses_acteurs/la_gestion/combien/quotas/hareng
Greenpeace. Et ta Mer t’y Penses? (2006)
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/france/presse/dossiers-documents/et-ta-mer-t-y-penses.pdfh
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/
photo:
http://wwz.ifremer.fr/peche/la_peche_et_ses_acteurs/les_ressources/ou/les_profondeurs/demersal

Scientific Name - Loligo vulgaris vulgaris
French Common Name - Encornet / Calamar
Habitat - bethopelagic; marine; depth range 0-500 m; usually found in between the coastal zone and the upper slope
Diet - feed on crustaceans, small fish (e.g. sardines and mackerels) and smaller squids
Fishing Gear
Primarily: bottom trawler (caught as bycatch in various fisheries)
Fisheries status
Adults and juveniles are caught in great numbers along the coasts of France. Because of their short life span and because their recruitment rates are very dependent on environmental conditions, it is difficult to set up an adequate management scheme for this fishery.
------------------------------
Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf

Scientific Name - Pecten maximus
French Common Name - Coquille Saint Jacques
Habitat - demersal; marine; depths down to 80 m; live in the sandy, muddy and stony bottoms of the sublittoral
Diet - filter-feeder (plankton and other microscopic free-floating marine organisms)
Fishing Gear
- Primarily: dredge
- Occasionally: bottom trawler
very destructive and poorly selective techniques
Species under quota
Minimum commercial size - 100 mm (North Atlantic); 110 mm (Celtic Sea and Eastern English Channel)
Aquaculture - raised on the littoral front
Fisheries status
Great scallops present all the prerequisites to sustainability: the species is sedentary, rapid growing, and has a young reproductive age and low natural mortality rates. Yet this species is being harvested at levels above the maximum sustainable yield and the fishing techniques used greatly harm the environment.
This fisheries in unsustainable in the Baie de Saint Brieuc (Brittany).
Favor farm-raised scallops rather than wild scallops.
------------------------------
Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
photo:
http://photos.linternaute.com/photo/1271559/1095147132/743/coquille-st-jacques/

Scientific Name - Homarus gammarus
French Common Name - Homard européen
Habitat - demersal; marine; holes and crevices of shallow waters but retreats to deeper waters in winter
Diet - ground dwelling invertebrates like crabs, mollusks, sea urchins, polychaete worms and starfish but occasionally also fishes, plants and carrion
Fishing Gear
Primarily: lobster pots
Occasionally: trammel, bottom dweller
Aquaculture
Attempts have been made to run lobster farms, they proved to be unfeasible because of the lobsters’ aggressively territorial habits
Fisheries status
Most stocks are fully exploited, a couple overexploited, but none are threatened with collapse. Lowering catches of immature individuals would populations replenish and help consolidate recruitment rates.
Avoid individuals smaller than 97 mm in length.
This fishery is very closely regulated. The capture of egg-bearing females is illegal, specific licenses are required to fish the lobster, and the number of pots allowed to take out to sea is limited.
------------------------------
Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
photo:
http://www.warrenphotographic.co.uk/photography/cats/08641.jpg

Scientific Name - Palaemon serratus
French Common Name - Crevette rose / Bouquet
Habitat - demersal; marine and brackish; from the middle shore down to submerged depths of around 150m; typically buries in the sand
Diet - omnivorous: crustaceans, annelid worms, algae, dead fish, etc.
Fishing Gear
Primarily: trap and net
Fisheries status
Not enough data is available to accurately assess the health of this fishery.
------------------------------
Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf

Scientific Name - Anguilla anguilla
French Common Name - Anguille d’Europe / Civelle (young)
Habitat - Demersal; catadromous; fresh, marine and brackish water; when at sea, lives in mud, crevices, and under stones
Diet - Small fishes, carrion and water invertebrates
Fishing Gear
Primarily: bottom trawler net for the fishing of the Civelle (young eels)
illegal on the Mediterranean front; spreads diseases and parasites
Species under quota
Aquaculture - ponds on land
Juveniles are fished from the wild and raised to repopulate wild stocks but risks are unclear: moving fish between rivers may cause the spread of diseases and parasites, and affect genetic diversity.
Fisheries status
The fishery of the European eel is unsustainable. The increased occurrence of pollution, parasites, habitat degradation and obstructed migration routes (mainly due to dams and water turbines) coupled with the increased fishing pressure have caused recruitment to decline for the past 25 years. Today, stocks are lower than they have ever been and numbers are still dwindling.
Since little is known about this species’ biology and ecology, it is difficult to assess and accurately predict the impact of fisheries on stock abundance. The fisheries management sector has therefore opted to use caution and set up restoration plans to ensure the persistence of this fishery. Population and habitat restoration projects are currently underway and a closed season has been imposed of the fisheries so to decrease the level of anthropogenic threats.
The eel has been listed as critically endangered under CITES, in 2007.
------------------------------
Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
AGLIA / IMA. Trois Documents Faisant le Point sut la Situation de l’Anguille en Europe au Printemps 2005. (2005)
http://www.aglia.org/Secure/upload/RessourcesDocs/Avis_2005_acfm.pdf
Ifremer. Comment Peches-t-on?
http://www.ifremer.fr/lth/littoral.php
Ifremer. Anguille Européene (2007)
http://wwz.ifremer.fr/peche/content/download/53291/387285/file/avis%20halieutique%20acfm-ang
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/
photo:
http://www.ifremer.fr/delar/peche.htm

Scientific Name - Dicentrarchus labrax
French Common Name - Bar commun / Loup
Habitat - demersal; fresh, brackish and marine water; depth range 10-100 m; lives in the littoral zone on various kinds of bottoms in estuaries, lagoons and occasionally rivers
Diet - shrimp, mollusks, small fishes
Fishing Gear
Primarily: long line, net (in the bay of Biscay)
Occasionally: bottom trawler, seine
bottom trawlers are used during spawning season
Minimum commercial size - 36 cm (Atlantic); 30 cm (Mediterranean Sea)
Aquaculture - floating cages (Mediterranean); ponds on land (Atlantic Coast)
Fisheries status
Even though scientific data is lacking concerning the geographic range of each stock, fishing mortality rates and commercial captures, these stocks seem healthy. According to the CIEM, the sea bass populations can, without risk, tolerate current levels of exploitation.
Avoid sea bass caught by trawlers (especially during breeding season, which takes place from January to March).
Avoid fish smaller than 40 cm in length, because even though the legal catch sizes are set bellow that figure, reproductive females don’t usually lay their first clutch before age 7 (41cm).
The North Eastern Sea Fisheries Committee (NESFC) sea bass fishery of this species has been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council as well-managed and sustainable
------------------------------
Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Greenpeace. Et ta Mer t’y Penses? (2006)
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/france/presse/dossiers-documents/et-ta-mer-t-y-penses.pdf
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/

Scientific Name - Xiphias gladius
French Common Name - Espadon
Habitat - pelagic-oceanic; marine; depth range 0-800 m, usually found between 0 and 500 m
Diet - feed on demersal fishes (hakes, pomfrets, cutlassfishes, snake mackerels, redfish, lanternfish, bristlemouths, hatchetfish, etc.), squids and cuttlefishes
Fishing Gear
Primarily: seine, long line, drift net
Net fishing has very high levels of marine mammal and sea turtle bycatch
Juveniles are caught in great numbers
Species under quota
Minimum commercial size - 125 cm
Fisheries status
Swordfish can migrate long distances but because they travel fairly slowly, they are very vulnerable to local overexploitation.
While the ICCA (International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas) deems the Mediterranean stock to be sustainable, the FAO has listed this stock as overexploited.
------------------------------
Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/
Ifremer. Pour une pêche durable. (2008)
http://wwz.ifremer.fr/pecheccsti/layout/set/print/la_peche_et_ses_acteurs/la_gestion/combien/quotas/hareng
FAO. General situation of world fish stocks. (2004) http://www.fao.org/newsroom/common/ecg/1000505/en/stocks.pdf
photo :
http://www.landbigfish.com/fish/fish.cfm?ID=101

Scientific Name - Coryphaenoides rupestris
French Common Name - Grenadier
Habitat - benthopelagic to bathypelagic; depth range 180-2200 m, usually found between 400 and 1200m
Diet - fishes, small shrimp and other invertebrates
Fishing Gear
Primarily: bottom trawler
Very poor selectivity: the narrow shape and poor swimming abilities of the grenadier together with the lack of protective mucus covering its scales make it nearly impossible to leave juveniles unharmed. Juvenile grenadiers who manage to escape through the meshes or escape windows of the bottom trawlers are likely to suffer subsequent death.
Species under quota
Fisheries status
This species is currently facing overexploitation in the North Atlantic. According to Ifremer, the current fishing effort must be reduced by half in order for presently overexploited stocks to recover.
The grenadier’s high longevity (80-100 years) and slow growth rate (sexual maturity is reached at age 14) makes the species especially vulnerable to overexploitation.
------------------------------
Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/
Greenpeace. Et ta Mer t’y Penses? (2006)http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/france/presse/dossiers-documents/et-ta-mer-t-y-penses.pdf
photo :
http://www.ifremer.fr/francais/produits/poisson/grenadier/grenadier-800.jpg

Scientific Name - Molva molva
French Common Name - Lingue franche / Julienne
Habitat - demersal; marine; depth range 200-500 m
Diet - mostly fishes (cod, hake, herring, flatfishes), but also crustaceans and starfish
Fishing Gear
Primarily: bottom trawl, bottom gill nets, bottom long line
Species under quota
Minimum commercial size - 63 cm
Fisheries status
This species shows high levels of productivity; females reaches sexual maturity around age 5 (90-100cm) and may hold tens of millions of eggs at once. However, due to a past history of overfishing, current population, though stable, are present in very low numbers.
Avoid individuals smaller than 90 cm in length.
Favor fish issued from the Barents Sea, Norwegian Sea and waters surrounding Island.
------------------------------
Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Ifremer. Pour une pêche durable. (2008)
http://wwz.ifremer.fr/pecheccsti/layout/set/print/la_peche_et_ses_acteurs/la_gestion/combien/quotas/hareng
Ifremer. Lingue Franche. (2006)
http://wwz.ifremer.fr/peche/content/download/53317/387417/file/acfm_linguefranche_2006.pdf
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/

Scientific Name - Scyliorhinus canicula, Scyliorhinus stellaris, Mustelus mustelus, Squalus acanthias
French Common Name - Requin: petite roussette, grande roussette, emissole lisse, aiguillat commun, requin ha, siki
Habitat - varies according to the species
Diet - extremely varied: fish, crustaceans, molluscs, marine mammals and other sharks
Fishing Gear
Primarily: bottom trawler, surface long line
Fisheries status
A third of all shark species worldwide are listed as endangered in the IUCN red list. The lifecycle of the shark (long-lived, low reproductive rates) makes it incredibly vulnerable to overexploitation. It is therefore recommended to avoid the consumption of sharks altogether.
Shark fining, though illegal in most of the world, is still a problem today. This practice consists in removing the fins of sharks and throwing the rest of the live animal back into the ocean. (to learn more about the topic visit http://www.sharkwater.com/education.htm)
------------------------------
Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Greenpeace. Et ta Mer t’y Penses? (2006)
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/france/presse/dossiers-documents/et-ta-mer-t-y-penses.pdf
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/
http://www.marseille-sympa.com/roussette.jpg

Scientific Name - Thunnus thynnus
French Common Name - Thon rouge
Habitat - pelagic-oceanic; brackish; marine; depth range 0 - 985 m, usually 0 - 100 m, oceanic but seasonally coming close to shore and can tolerate a wide range of temperatures
Diet - prey on small schooling fishes (anchovies, sauries, hakes) or on squids and red crabs
Fishing Gear
Primarily: seine
Occasionally: long line, beach seine
Species under quota
Fisheries status
The Mediterranean bluefin tuna population is in a critical state. It is in immediate danger of stock collapse.
Scientists estimate that 40% of the total Mediterranean catch goes undeclared.
Fishing mortality is 3 times greater than the maximum sustainable fishing rate.
Related News: (March 18 2010)
UN Rejects Export Ban on Atlantic Bluefin Tuna
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/19/science/earth/19species.html
------------------------------
Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Greenpeace. Et ta Mer t’y Penses? (2006)
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/france/presse/dossiers-documents/et-ta-mer-t-y-penses.pdfh
Ifremer. Pour une pêche durable. (2008)
http://wwz.ifremer.fr/pecheccsti/layout/set/print/la_peche_et_ses_acteurs/la_gestion/combien/quotas/hareng
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/

Scientific Name - Hoplosthetus atlanticus
French Common Name - Empereur / Hoplostète rouge
Habitat - demersal; marine; depth range 800-1800 m
Diet - Filter-feeder (plankton and other microscopic free-floating marine organisms)
Fishing Gear
Primarily: deep-water trawler
Species under quota
Fisheries status
This species can only tolerate extremely low levels of exploitation, it is today impossible to sustainably fish the orange roughy.
Orange roughies are known to reach ages of 160 years or more and have a very slow reproductive cycle, 17 to 21 years separates one generation from the next. Both these factors make this fish particularly vulnerable to overexploitation.
------------------------------
Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Greenpeace. Et ta Mer t’y Penses? (2006)
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/france/presse/dossiers-documents/et-ta-mer-t-y-penses.pdfh
Ifremer. Pour une pêche durable. (2008)
http://wwz.ifremer.fr/pecheccsti/layout/set/print/la_peche_et_ses_acteurs/la_gestion/combien/quotas/hareng
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/
photo:
http://www.ifremer.fr/francais/produits/poisson/empereur/empereur-800.jpg

Scientific Name - Solea vulgaris vulgaris, Solea solea
French Common Name - Sole commune / Sole franche / Sole de Douve
Habitat - demersal; fresh, brackish and marine waters; distributed from coastal waters to depth of 250; found on sandy and muddy bottoms, and digging into sea bottoms
Diet - feed on worms, mollusks and small crustaceans at night
Fishing Gear
Primarily: beam trawler, bottom trawler, trammel
trawlers are responsible for high rates of bycatch of juvenile cod and plaice
Fisheries status
In the Mediterranean: the stock is fully exploited and will easily become overexploited if no measures are put in place to try and stop the fishing effort from intensifying.
In the Bay of Biscay: risk of stock collapse.
The Hastings Fleet Dover Sole fishery has been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council as being well managed and sustainable.
Favor fish longer than 30 cm in size.
------------------------------
Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Greenpeace. Et ta Mer t’y Penses? (2006)
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/france/presse/dossiers-documents/et-ta-mer-t-y-penses.pdf
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/
Marine Stewardship Council.
http://www.msc.org/html/content_1216.htm
http://www.fao.org/fishery/species/3367/en

Scientific Name - Gadus morhua
French Common Name - Morue commune / Cabillaud
Habitat - demersal; marine; depth range 0 - 600m, usually found between 150 and 200 m in depth; sandy, muddy and rocky bottoms
Diet - feeds mainly on crustaceans, bivalves, small fishes, worms
Fishing Gear
Primarily: bottom trawler
Occasionally: long line
Species under quota
Minimum commercial size - 30 cm (Skagerrak and Kattegat); 38 cm (Baltic Sea); 35 cm (everywhere else)
Fisheries status
From the end 1990’s to the early 2000’s, Cod suffered fishing pressures so intense that present-day juvenile populations are in numbers too low to generate viable populations. Measures are currently being put in place to increase the juvenile populations and lower fishing mortality but it will be a few years before we start seeing lasting increases in population numbers.
Off the Northern Coast: Spawning stock biomass has decrease by nearly 8-fold between 1968 and 2006.
In the Mediterranean Sea: recruitment rates are very low since 2002; the stock would greatly benefit from lowering the fishing pressure.
The only stocks that are not yet overexploited are those from the North East Artic and those from Island. All others are either overexploited or threatened with extinction.
Cod from the Pacific Gadus macrocephalus is MSC certified, but don’t forget your carbon footprint!
------------------------------
Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Ifremer. Pour une pêche durable. (2008)
http://wwz.ifremer.fr/pecheccsti/layout/set/print/la_peche_et_ses_acteurs/la_gestion/combien/quotas/hareng
Greenpeace. Et ta Mer t’y Penses? (2006)
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/france/presse/dossiers-documents/et-ta-mer-t-y-penses.pdfh
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/
photo:
http://www.nautic-seafood.com/cm-webpic/gadus_morhua_sw.jpg

Scientific Name - Lophius piscatorius ; Lophius budegassa
French Common Name - Lotte/ Baudroie commune ; Baudroie rousse
Habitat - bathydemersal; marine; depth range 300 - 1013 m
Diet - small fishes (mackerel, blennies,...)
Fishing Gear
Primarily:bottom trawler, gill net
Fisheries status
In the Celtic Sea and Bay of Biscay the blackbellied angler fishery is unsustainable due to excessive fishing of juveniles.
Very little is known about blackbellied angler and data concerning its collection is poor, which makes future trends difficult to predict.
In the North sea and Norwegian Sea : data is lacking. Scientists are unable to establish whether or not fishing is sustainable.
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Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Greenpeace. Et ta Mer t’y Penses? (2006)
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/france/presse/dossiers-documents/et-ta-mer-t-y-penses.pdf
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/
http://www.ifremer.fr/francais/produits/poisson/baudroie/baudroie.htm

Scientific Name - Salmo salar
French Common Name - Saumon de l’Atlantique
Habitat - marine, brackish and freshwater; adults return to natal rivers to spawn
Diet - feed on squid, sand eels, amphipods, shrimp, herring, sand lace, smelt, etc.
Fishing Gear
Primarily: bottom trawlers
Occasionally: line, net
During spawning season.
Species under quota
Fisheries status -
Salmon need to swim up rivers in order to spawn, unfortunately, habitat degradation and dam constructions have rendered this task difficult and severely impacted recruitment rates for this species.
All stocks targetted by French fleets are overexploited.
The Alaska salmon fishery has been certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), but don't forget your carbon footprint!
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Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Dumas J, Prouzet P, Porcher J.P., Davaine P (1979). Etat des connaissances sur le saumon en France. Journées d’étude "Aquaculture extensive et repeuplement" - Brest, 29-31 mai 1979. http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/6054/
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/
photo:
http://www.seafoodfromnorway.com/page?id=103&key=2499

Scientific Name - Pagellus bogaraveo + Pagellus centradontus
French Common Name - Dorade rose
Habitat - benthopelagic; marine; over seagrass beds and rocky/sandy bottoms to about 300m deep
Diet - omnivorous, feed on seaweeds and small invertebrates, especially crustaceans
Fishing Gear
Primarily: trawlers, long line, net, trammel
Occasionally: hand line
Species under quota
Fisheries status
This fishery is suffering overexploitation.
Born as males, black sea breams turn into females around age 8. This biological trait makes the species especially vulnerable to overfishing since a balanced presence of both young and older individuals is essential to keep viable recruitment rates.
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Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/
photo:
http://www.fishbase.us/images/thumbnails/jpg/tn_Pabog_m0.jpg

Scientific Name - Hippoglossus hippoglossus
French Common Name - Flétan de l’Atlantique
Habitat - demersal; marine; depth range 50-2000 m
Diet - feed mainly on other fishes (cod, haddock, pogge, sand-eels, herring, capelin) but also feed on cephalopods, large crustaceans and other bottom-living animals
Fishing Gear
Primarily: bottom and midwater trawler, net
Occasionally: line
Species under quota
Aquaculture
Approximately 5kg of wild fish is needed for every kg of halibut raised.
Certain aquaculture industries are known to overfeed their fish in order to accelerate their growth.
Fisheries status
The North East and North West Atlantic stocks suffer from overexploitation.
This species is listed on the IUCN Red List.
The halibut’s high longevity (50 years) and slow growth rate (it can take up to 15 years for individuals to reach sexual maturity) makes the species especially vulnerable to overexploitation.
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Sources:
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2008)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/FrenchSpeciesGuide_RevisedFinal.pdf
Seafood Choices Alliance Produits de la Mer. Guide des espèces à l’usage des professionnels. (2009)
http://www.seafoodchoices.org/resources/documents/MAJSeafood.pdf
WWF France. Conso-guide. (2007)
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/guide_poisson.pdf
Fish Base.
http://www.fishbase.org/