The World Wildlife Fund on Wednesday announced the global standards for its freshwater trout aquaculture dialogue have been completed.
“As demand for farmed seafood increases on a finite planet with limited resources, food production systems have to change, including improvement in the aquaculture industry,” said Jason Clay, WWF market transformation senior VP. “Central to WWF’s commitment to conserve biodiversity is to support a collective approach to reduce the impact of the seafood production on the world’s most ecologically important regions.”
The standards are intended to address the key negative environmental and social impacts associated with freshwater trout farming and allow for the economic viability of the aquaculture industry, which has grown by more than 50 percent by volume since 2000. Impacts addressed through the standards include water use, escapes, discharges, habitat conversion, fish health/disease transfer, sourcing of feed ingredients, energy efficiency, predator control and labor conditions.
“To reach the final agreement has been a long and complicated process, where it has been necessary for all parties to make compromises. However, we have throughout the process felt a tremendous responsibility to come up with a solution, which will allow us to continue to develop our industry in a sustainable manner,” said Niels Alsted from BioMar Group, who is a member of the steering committee. “We believe the new standard will contribute to protect scarce resources and to create a healthy business for all stakeholders in the aquaculture value chain.”
The Steering Committee has handed over the final standards and audit manual to the Aquaculture Stewardship Council. The ASC will oversee field-testing the standards and audit manual.
