On World Oceans Day, and alongside the United Nation’s (UN) Ocean
Conference in New York, USA, the Global Salmon Initiative (GSI) has today
registered its commitment to support the implementation of the UN Sustainable
Development Goal (SDG) 14; the SDG 14
aims to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources. By
aligning its work with SDG 14, the GSI can ensure it is driving the farmed
salmon sector towards continuous improvements in sustainability, implementing
real and measurable change to support the future biodiversity of our oceans,
and to help safeguard the planet.
At the 2015 UN Forum, Former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said,
“Now is the time to mobilize the global business community as never before. The
case is clear. Realizing the SDGs will improve the environment for doing
business and building markets. There are huge opportunities for responsible
companies to deliver solutions.”1
“Responsibility and accountability are very important for us,” said
Gerardo Balbontin, Co-Chair of the GSI and CEO of Blumar SA. “By aligning with
the SDGs, we are able to identify, and effectively incorporate, the important
actions we can be working on to support the SDGs, and then transparently report
on the progress we are making.”
Recognizing the critical need for progress towards the SDGs, and in
particular the importance of the aquaculture industry in guaranteeing the
sustainable use of marine resources, the members of the GSI have committed to
the following:
· Utilizing the GSI
model of pre-competitive collaboration to facilitate knowledge transfer and the
sharing of best practices to promote accelerated improvements
· Transparently
reporting on environmental and social performance via an annual industry-wide
Sustainability Report
· Driving innovation
through continued partnerships and sharing of expertise
· Supporting knowledge
transfer from salmon aquaculture to developing aquaculture sectors to drive
accelerated improvements across the wider industry
From identifying that acting individually will not generate the
progress needed to protect the world’s oceans at the scale or speed needed, the
GSI members have committed to working pre-competitively, with their partners
and other industry groups, to promote accelerated progress.
“About 70% of the planet is water and yet it provides less than 5%
of our food,” said Per Grieg, Co-Chair of the GSI and Chairman of Grieg Seafood
ASA. “Considering the population growth and its increased economic development
demand for food, the oceans will offer a huge potential solution in feeding the
future 9 billion people – this makes it even more important that we make every
effort to ensure we balance growth with conservation. The farmed salmon sector
has already made significant improvements in reducing the amount of marine
ingredients used in the feed, reducing
the feed conversion ratio from 2:1 in the 1980s to 1.15–1.3:1 now, and through
continued innovation we hope to improve this further. Sustainable aquaculture
can play a very important role in feeding the world, and responsible use of
marine resources can protect them for future generations.”
The GSI’s complete voluntary commitment to the implementation of the
SDG 14 will be posted on the Ocean Conference website shortly, and will also be
included in the final Ocean Conference report.
The SDGs were established as part of the UN’s 2030 agenda for
Sustainable Development, and the 17 goals are designed to steer the world onto
a more sustainable and resilient path – protecting both the future of humanity
and the planet.
For more information on the Ocean Conference and the commitments,
please visit https://oceanconference.un.org/
References:
1 Secretary-General's remarks
at the United Nations Private Sector Forum, 26 September 2015;
https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2015-09-26/secretary-generals-remarks-united-nations-private-sector-forum
[accessed May 31, 2017]
ABOUT GSI
The Global Salmon Initiative (GSI) is a leadership initiative
established in 2013 by global farmed salmon producers focused on making
significant progress on industry sustainability. Today, GSI comprises 13 companies
– representing approximately 50% of the global salmon production industry –
that are fully committed to realizing a shared goal of providing a highly
sustainable source of healthy food to feed a growing global population, whilst
minimizing our environmental footprint, and continuing to improve our social
contribution.
GSI member companies are Australis S.A.; Bakkafrost; Blumar; Cermaq;
Compañía Pesquera Camanchaca; Empresas AquaChile; Grieg Seafood ASA; Huon
Aquaculture; Los Fiordos; Marine Harvest; Multiexport Foods S.A.; New Zealand
King Salmon; and Ventisqueros. GSI companies have a presence in Australia,
Canada, Chile, the Faroe Islands, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and the UK, and
make significant contributions to the economies of these respective countries.
In addition, the GSI also has a number of Associate Members in both
the pharmaceutical and feed industries, including Benchmark Holdings plc;
BioMar; Cargill; Elanco; Merck, Sharpe and Dohme (MSD) Animal Health; PHARMAQ;
Salmofood; and Skretting.
For further information on the GSI, please visit HERE
The Aquaculturists
This blog is maintained by The Aquaculturists staff and is supported by the
magazine International Aquafeed which is published by Perendale Publishers Ltd
For additional daily news from aquaculture around the world: aquaculture-news
No comments:
Post a Comment