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Catfish rules set to curb eco impact
Global standards for responsible pangasius (Genus of catfish) farming were finalised last Wednesday by the Pangasius Aquaculture Dialogue, a network of 600-plus farmers, scientists, conservationists and others.
The pangasius standards are one of eight sets of standards being developed through the Aquaculture Dialogues, a series of roundtables coordinated by the World Wide Fund for Nature.
The network said it had a shared vision of minimising the negative impact that pangasius farming can have on the environment, farm workers and surrounding communities.
Standards for tilapia farming were finalised in December and for bivalves this week.
Four additional sets of standards on abalone, shrimp, salmon and freshwater trout are in the process of being finalised by Dialogue steering committees or reviewed during public comment periods.
The final pangasius standards will help minimise water pollution, unfair labor conditions and the destruction of natural habitat to create farms.
Most pangasius farming is done in Viet Nam, which then exports the majority of this fish to the EU, the US and Russia.
"Pangasius farming is one of the fastest-growing aquaculture industries in the world but, until now, there have not been any credible standards for the industry," said Dr Flavio Corsin, coordinator of the Dialogue since its inception in 2007.
"These standards will help fill the void," Corsin added. "They will be the best standards in the marketplace because they were developed through a transparent, science-based process that involved a broad and very diverse group of people with expertise in everything from how to protect the environment to how to fit well into a community."
The final standards incorporate feedback from more than 300 people during the two public comment periods held by the Dialogue, as well as input provided during meetings with small-scale pangasius farmers, agriculture farmers and farm employees in Viet Nam and Bangladesh who will be directly affected by the standards.
"As a major European fish brand, it is important for our business to know that there are standards created through a very credible process that will be independently audited," said David Graham of Birds Eye Iglo Group, who is a member of the pangasius Dialogue's Process Facilitation Group.
"That's what we need in order to help enhance consumer confidence in what is still a relatively unfamiliar fish species."
The certification process for these standards will be overseen by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC).
Until the ASC is created in mid-2011, the certification will be done by GLOBALGAP, a private sector entity that administers a variety of commodity-oriented certification programmes worldwide. The standards will be amended over time to incorporate new science and technology, as well as to encourage improvement on farms.
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