# Threatened species

## Threatened fish

Globally, 31% of marine populations are overexploited¹, and the situation is particularly critical in the Mediterranean, where this figure climbs to 93%. Fighting overfishing is a major issue to preserve marine species and allow this resource to be sustainable.

Thus, for all fish-based products, an assessment of the state of the stocks is established on the basis of 2 main criteria:

* Fish species
* Fishing/catch zone (FAO)

The stock assessment for each species is available in the file below:

{% file src="/files/X779mjN0N4DZdCHIyIF9" %}
Threatened fish - Summary of species and areas (v1.4be)
{% endfile %}

`Version 1.4be — update 06/12/2023`

If the product contains a non-sustainable species, the product obtains the Eco-score <img src="/files/-MXq3bWn2Ohe8QRKM3-u" alt="" data-size="line">(E) , independently of the other criteria.&#x20;

{% hint style="info" %}
**Special cases**

* If the fishing zone is unknown and the species is threatened in at least one zone, the most conservative hypothesis is adopted, and the product is noted E
* If the species is unknown, the product is rated E&#x20;
* For sub-areas (e.g. "Bay of Biscay"), in the absence of more precise information on the fishing area, the default choice is taken as follows`✅OK` or `❌KO` as indicated in the excel file.
  {% endhint %}

The assessment of the sustainability of wild fish stocks is based on 4 main complementary sources.&#x20;

* Ethic Ocean (<http://guidedesespeces.org/fr>)
* WWF (<http://www.consoguidepoisson.fr/wwf-recommendations/> and <https://fr.fishguide.be/>)
* IFREMER (<https://wwz.ifremer.fr/>)
* <https://www.fishbase.org.au/v4>

If a species is not documented in one of these sources other sources can be used.

This criterion applies to all products containing 30% or more of wild fish, crustaceans or molluscs. **Farmed fish (aquaculture) are not covered by this criterion.**

## Palm oil : -10 points

Palm oil is currently the most widely consumed oil in the world (38%). The oil palm cultivation it involves poses a major threat to many species: orang-utans, gibbons, rhinoceroses, elephants, tigers, birds, etc.&#x20;

To take account of the loss of biodiversity caused by oil palm cultivation and to encourage a more sustainable oil supply, a 10-point penalty is applied to all products containing palm oil.

### <img src="/files/-MDTyfgXKmHKQb1QDrxd" alt="" data-size="line"> RSPO

The 10-point penalty does not apply if the palm oil used is sustainable, i.e. 100% RSPO Segregated (SG) and/or Identity Preserved (IP) certified. There are 4 levels of RSPO certification.&#x20;

Two of these guarantee that the palm oil in the product is sustainable (Identity Preserved and Segregated), while the other two are compensation and support mechanisms for the sector that do not guarantee the absence of deforestation.&#x20;

For this reason, they are not included in the Eco-score. Find out more: <https://rspo.org/certification/supply-chains>

| Certification                | Accepted |
| ---------------------------- | -------- |
| RSPO Credits                 | ❌ No     |
| RSPO Mass Balance (MB)       | ❌ No     |
| RSPO Segregated (SG)         | ✅ Yes    |
| RSPO Identity Preserved (IP) | ✅ Yes    |

## Sources

¹ FAO. (2016). The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture. <http://www.fao.org/3/i5555e/i5555e.pdf>\
\
WWF. (2016). L’Océan dans votre assiette - Le guide du WWF sur les produits de la mer. [https://www.wwf.fr/sites/default/files/doc-2017-08/1707\_consoguide\_poiss](https://www.wwf.fr/sites/default/files/doc-2017-08/1707_consoguide_poisson.pdf)[on.pdf](https://www.wwf.fr/sites/default/files/doc-2017-08/1707_consoguide_poisson.pdf), <http://www.consoguidepoisson.fr/wwf-recommendations/>\
\
Ethic Ocean. (2015-2020). Guide des espèces. <http://www.guidedesespeces.org/fr>\
\
Conseil International pour l'Exploration de la Mer. (2021). <https://www.ices.dk/Pages/default.aspx>\
\
International Seafood Sustainability Foundation. (2021). <https://iss-foundation.org/>

RSPO. (2020). <https://rspo.org/>

Pail Oil Scorecard. (2020). <https://palmoilscorecard.panda.org/file/WWF_Palm_Oil_Scorecard_2020.pdf><br>


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://docs.score-environnemental.be/eng/methodology/produit/especes-menacee.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.