October 31, 2007

Swiss retail chain joins Friend of the Sea programme
 

Manor, a major Swiss retail chain, has joined Friend of the Sea, a project for certification of seafood from sustainable fisheries and aquaculture.

The company's suppliers already comply with the minimum size requirements and is protecting marine mammals and turtles from by-catch, according to the company.

However, it wanted to go a step further and thus it has become a member of the Friend of the Sea project.

Seafood products from member companies carry a Friend of the Sea label. Members have to meet a limit of 8 percent discard rate for wild catch and zero impact on the seabed, among other requirements.

Manor has also stopped selling seafood from species said to be threatened, such as the Atlantic cod, haddock, halibut, bluefin tuna and Atlantic salmon.

The company would now sell cod, salmon and halibut from Friend of the Sea certified aquaculture while its bluefin tuna would be replaced by the yellow fin with an eventual 100-percent conversion to Friend of the Sea certified seafood by the end of 2008.

Products and their origins are assessed according to Friend of the Sea criteria and audited by independent third party certification bodies.

Manor joins a list of retailers and processing companies around the world which are Friend of the Sea certified. Main Italian retail chains this week begun offering the full range of Friend of the Sea products.