New organic standard offers opportunity for farmers
BCSFA, Thursday, May 10, 2012
The newly-released organic standards for Canada’s ocean farmers are a great example of setting a high bar for aquaculture across the country, said the BC Salmon Farmers Association today.
“This is a strong standard that will meet the consumers’ confidence in organic designations, while providing an opportunity to some of our farmers interested in achieving this certification,” said Mary Ellen Walling, Executive Director of the BC Salmon Farmers Association.
Organic standards for aquaculture establish additional requirements for materials approved in raising fish, controlling feed inputs, stocking densities, and use of pesticides, prohibition of antibiotics, herbicides and antifoulants, above the already-high regulations met by BC’s salmon farmers.
As they are with traditional terrestrial farming, organic standards will be targeted by a small percentage of overall producers.
The standard, which was officially released today, has been developed over many years with the input of a diverse group of stakeholders including growers, retailers, government, researchers and environmental groups and voted on through a balanced system meeting Canadian General Standards Board requirements. Some members of the BCSFA have been involved with the process, and the release today marks the culmination of a lot of hard work for the entire group.
“Any certification process which encourages high standards and continuing improvement of our business is a positive step, “said Walling, BCSFA. “It’s great to see ocean farming included in the organic menu – it’s important to some consumers and is a demand some of our farmers would like to meet.”
While most of BC’s salmon farmers won’t pursue organic certification, all of the BCSFA’s members are constantly working to improve their operations within the most highly regulated food production industry in the province. While the new Canadian Organic Aquaculture standard may be an option for some, other certifications and sustainability programs are being adopted in British Columbia as well.
The BCSFA represents salmon farm companies and those who supply services and supplies to the industry. Salmon-farming provides for 6,000 direct and indirect jobs while contributing $800-million to the provincial economy each year.
For more information visit www.salmonfarmers.org
New Organic Standard Released for Canadian Farmed Seafood CAIA, May 10, 2012
Ottawa, ON – With the release of the Canadian Organic Aquaculture Standard on May 10, Canadian consumers will now have the opportunity to choose certified organic farmed seafood including finfish, shellfish and aquatic plants.
Aquaculture, the farming of aquatic plants and animals, is the fastest growing food production system in the world, producing about 50 percent of the seafood consumed today. Because aquatic farming relies on plant and animal husbandry, it is possible to apply organic growing and rearing principles to this system of food production. Like its organic terrestrial counterpart, the organic aquatic sector uses specific farming protocols which minimize the input of synthetic substances and maximize local environmental quality.
Specifically, the organic aquaculture standard prohibits the use of antibiotics, herbicides and genetically modified organisms, and severely restricts the use parasiticides, allowed only under veterinary supervision as a last course of treatment. The standard sets measurable requirements for practices that minimize the impact of waste. These include defining stocking rates, cleaning procedures and the cleaning and feed materials that must be used.
The new standard was developed with the Canadian General Standards Board and a stakeholder committee of industry members, consumer advocates, regulators and environmental organizations. The draft standard went through two extensive public reviews and countless changes before being published this week.
“The industry works hard to maintain its high standards,” said Ruth Salmon, Executive Director of the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA), “and organic certification will provide an opportunity for some of our farmers to apply organic standards to their methods of production."
To qualify for organic certification, Canadian aquaculture products must have been grown on farms operating in accordance with organic aquatic farming methods established by the new standards. Farms are inspected by third-party certifying bodies to ensure that the standard has been followed. The new national standard does not currently fall under the scope of Canada’s Organic Products Regulations or Canada’s trade equivalencies for organic products with the United States or European Union.
“Until now, organic claims could show up on aquaculture products from outside the country and consumers wouldn’t know whether the claims were trustworthy or what standards they met,” said Matthew Holmes, Executive Director of the Canada Organic Trade Association. “Now we have a made-in-Canada standard that clearly and verifiably defines the environmental and husbandry requirements, and meets consumers’ expectations for a high-water mark for this quickly-growing Canadian sector.”
The Canada Organic Trade Association is the membership-based trade association for the organic sector in Canada, representing growers, shippers, processors, certifiers, farmers' associations, distributors, importers, exporters, consultants, retailers and others in the organic value chain. COTA’s mission is to promote and protect the growth of organic trade to benefit the environment, farmers, the public and the economy.
The Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance is a national association representing Canada’s seafood farmers. With membership comprised of finfish, shellfish and aquatic plant farmers, feed companies and suppliers, as well as provincial aquaculture associations, CAIA is a passionate advocate for the quality and sustainability of farmed seafood.
To learn more about the Canadian Organic Aquaculture Standard visit www.aquaculture.ca/organic.
Organic certifications for Canadian fish farms unveiled
By Sarah Schmidt, Postmedia News May 9, 2012
OTTAWA — Canadian farmed fish can now be certified as organic with the release of made-in-Canada standards.
The inaugural Canadian Organic Aquaculture Standard, to be released Thursday, prohibits the use of antibiotics, herbicides and genetically modified organisms, and severely restricts the use of parasiticides. The standard also sets measurable requirements for practices that minimize the impact of waste, including defining stocking rates, cleaning procedures and cleaning and feed materials that must be used.
The final standards, prepared by a special committee of the federal government's Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) and approved by the Standards Council of Canada, look different from a draft proposal released in 2010. The early draft was widely criticized by consumer advocates and environmentalists for proposing to permit the use of antibiotics and parasiticides at levels already being met by the conventional aquaculture industry.
Some opponents also argued that the concepts of organic and net-pen aquaculture are incompatible.
But the final version, while banning the use of antibiotics, still has critics, with one leading conservation group that voted against the final version as a member of the CGSB committee saying it "has as many holes as a net pen."
In addition to this assessment by the Living Oceans Society, the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, which also voted against the standard alongside the Vancouver-based group, said the "weak" standard threatens the integrity of all organic labels because they include open-net pen finfish, despite scientific studies linking this farming practice to detrimental impacts on wild salmon and on the marine environment.
Justin Henry, chairman of the CGSB's organic aquaculture committee, acknowledged not everyone will be happy with the final product. But he said it's tougher than the early draft and the final version received support from a majority of committee members.
"There have been significant changes. With such huge diversity in types of aquaculture, it was a long and challenging process to get input from all the different user groups and different types of farmers. There are some that feel that the standard could be more restrictive and probably even more that think it's too restrictive," Henry said in an interview.
"The focus is to provide an environment to prevent any disease from happening, thereby negating the requirements for antibiotics. Nevertheless, if you treat, then those fish have to come out of the organic chain," added Henry, general manager at Target Marine, a fish farm in Sechelt, B.C.
Meanwhile, the new Canadian standard will permit the limited use of parasiticides. But operators with an organic designation will have to have a comprehensive plan to minimize any problems with parasites, such as sea lice. And for fish under the age of one, there can only be one treatment. Older fish can undergo no more than two treatments, and will have to wait at least 14 days (or double the legal withdrawal time) before being processed for food.
"An operator will not be able to treat over and over and maintain an organic status," said Henry. "It's very restrictive."
The treatment of pen nets with antifoulants is also not permitted.
Kelly Roebuck, the Livings Oceans Society representative on the CGSB committee, singled out the use of synthetic pesticides and the unrestricted use of non-organic feed for finfish as particular problems. She pointed out there is a 100 per cent organic feed requirement currently in place for all other organic livestock.
Roebuck also criticized the process, saying the Canadian General Standards Board's Committee on Aquaculture was dominated by industry officials with the backing of government officials.
"It was biased from the start. This was really a standard that was created by the government and industry to be able to okay the status quo in conventional aquaculture practices," said Roebuck.
Groups representing producers (14) outnumbered consumer associations (two), conservation groups (two) and a lone aboriginal group. The committee also was comprised of six officials from various government departments, including Fisheries and Oceans Canada, which kick-started the process in 2008.
Ten officials representing the "general interest category" rounded out the committee membership.
Stephanie Wells, who represented the Canada Organic Trade Association on the CGSB committee, said critics should view the new Canadian organic aquaculture as "a beginning" to be reviewed within five years.
"I am hugely impressed at the changes we underwent and what we learned from certain producers on the committee, who demonstrated we've been using these practices, and yes, you can reach this bar," said Wells, who serves as the trade association's senior regulatory affairs adviser.
"We can't start if we don't start somewhere."
Products from open-water systems will be able to be certified in a year. The transition period for closed systems has been set at 36 months.
