Sustainability

Sustainable Fishing

Eskimo-3 has been awarded Friend of the Sea certification.

Cardinova is extremely proud to announce that their flagship product, which is the best-selling omega-3 fish oil supplement Eskimo-3, has been awarded Friend of the Sea certification. This is in recognition of our commitment to sustainable fishing practices and also from the fishery that supplies the oil for Eskimo-3.

This means that Eskimo-3 is probably the purest and most stable omega-3 fish oil available. It is also one of the most environmentally friendly fish oils on the market.

Friend of the Sea

Friend of the Sea is a non-profit, non-government organisation which is now a major international certification project for products originating from both sustainable fisheries and aquaculture.

Any fishery wishing to receive certification must adhere to the strict criteria laid down by Friend of the Sea as follows:

• Target stock not to be over exploited
• Fishery to generate maximum of 8% discards
• No by-catch of endangered species
• No impact on the seabed
• Compliance with regulations
• Social accountability
• Gradual reduction of carbon footprint

Eskimo-3 Fully Traceable Fish Oil Sources

Eskimo-3 provides high quality fish oil from sustainable sardine and anchovy. The manufacturers of Eskimo-3 use only the highest quality fish oil available from fully traceable sources. Unlike most fish oil companies who buy their oil on the “spot market” and don’t know the source of their oil, Eskimo-3 has an exclusive agreement with specialist fisheries in Peru, who fish sardine and anchovy from local sustainable sources, providing oil of exceptional quality. This oil can actually be tracked back to the individual fishing vessel and even the individual taking care of the fish. This traceability and accountability continues right through the production process up to the finished product.

Strict Government Controls on Peruvian Fish Stocks

Off the coast of Peru lies one of the most productive fishing areas in existence. Due to their extreme abundance, the harvesting of anchovy and sardines is a major industry in Peru. In fact, the waters are so full of fish that the area accounts for almost one half of the world’s total commercial fish catch. Peru’s Gross National Product is totally dependent on the fisheries and the government guards their operations incredibly carefully.

The fish resources in Peru have historically been viewed as infinitely renewable, but the Peruvian government has taken measures to ensure that the anchovy and sardines are fished at sustainable levels. Fishing in Peru is fully controlled by the Ministry of Fishing. This authority continually monitors the fish population in the sea (numbers, sizes, spawning period etc) and determines quotas based on the finding. The fishing has been limited to just five days a week and the fishing season has been limited to a fraction of
the year in order to keep harvests down.

The fishing opens several times a year, each period with its own quota. Once the fishing opens, officials count every load and shut down the fishing once the total quotas have been reached. This is normally after 7 to 10 days. After this period, everything closes down and fishing has to wait for the next opening. Each fishing vessel has to be registered with the Ministry of Fishing and needs to have a GPS transmitter fitted so its movements can be monitored by them. This regulation is enforced far more strictly than it is with EU fisheries, not to mention African coast and Russian areas.