Almost half of the fish sold in France is not from sustainable sources

Nearly half of fish sold in France comes from unsustainable populations, a report from the French Research Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea has found – as it warned that overfishing remained a major environmental problem. Published on Tuesday, Ifremer's report underscores ongoing challenges as France falls well short of the European Union's 100 percent sustainable fishing target. This is despite minor progress over the past 12 months. Of the 347,000 tons of fish unloaded in France in 2022, 56 percent was sustainably sourced. That figure is up from 54 percent the previous year. The report also found that 20 percent of species in French markets – including mackerel and sardines – still comes from overfished populations. Some species, such as pollack in the English Channel and hake in the Mediterranean, have experienced population collapses, the researchers said. Even when fished at their highest sustainable yields, many fish populations remain fragile because their ...