How did an endangered shark species end up on the fish market stalls of an E.Leclerc store?
On Wednesday September 16, some customers of the Vitry store in Val-de-Marne were surprised by the presence of a thresher shark - classified as a "
vulnerable
"
species
on a global scale and "
endangered
" in European waters - on the display of the fishmonger of the hypermarket.
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Alerted, the NGO Sea Shepherd denounced on social networks the hypocrisy of such practices which are nevertheless legal, "
If accidental captures are not sanctioned and it is legal to market them, the lack of ethics and the 'irresponsibility of profit-hungry professionals should no longer be ignored,
' writes the NGO in a post published on Facebook illustrated with photographs of the stall.
The brand ended this controversial sale the very next day, after many Internet users denounced this process on social networks.
The management of the store posted a message of apology on the store's Facebook account in which it indicates that an internal investigation is underway and that the supplier has been invited to come "to
explain himself to the management
".
The NGO and professionals in the sector are passing the buck
However, the Vitry store has not legally broken any law.
Indeed, if this species of shark is well endangered and its targeted fishing is prohibited in France, accidental fishing of this species is not reprehensible: if a specimen is accidentally caught by a fishing boat and that it is no longer alive when the nets are hauled in (in which case it must be released), the fisherman can legally sell it on his return to port so that it can be distributed to fishmongers and supermarkets .
An ambiguous legislation denounced by Lamya Essemlali, president of Sea Shepherd France.
"
The fact of banning the targeted capture of thresher sharks, while allowing the sale of this species when it is accidentally caught, encourages some fishermen to keep their catches even if they are still alive in order to resell them,
" said she does.
Lamya Essemlali also indicates that nothing can prove the accidental capture of these species.
Sea Shepherd has been campaigning for several years to change the legislation on incidental fishing of endangered species.
The NGO proposes in particular to install cameras on board fishing boats to film the hauling of nets of French fishermen and thus force fishermen to take more precautions.
Professionals in the sector contacted by
Le Figaro
deem this proposal unrealistic because the images filmed by the cameras will be difficult to use when the vessels navigate in the mist or when they go fishing in rainy weather, especially in winter.
As part of the Obsmer program co-financed by the French State and the European Union, scientific observers are on board professional fishing vessels to observe catches and fishing conditions.
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Arguments disputed by Sea Shepherd, "
Onboard cameras are tested elsewhere, notably in Denmark with very good results, as for the observers, they are few and the captains are not obliged to welcome them on board their boat
" certifies Lamya Essemlali.