The Aquaculturists

Friday, June 3, 2016

03/06/2016: The ASC welcomes Netuno Internacional, the First Farm in Brazil to Gain ASC Tilapia Certification

Netuno Internacional has become the first farm in Brazil to gain Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) Certification. After an independent, third-party assessment conducted by Control Union Peru, Netuno was awarded ASC certification against the Tilapia standard.

Tilapia fish farming - Igrapiuna, Brazil

Neptune Internacional's announcement comes in the lead up to the 2016 Rio Olympic and Paralympic games. The Rio 2016 organising committee has made a commitment to supply ASC and Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified seafood to athletes and spectators at the Games whenever possible.

Their pledge is part of a broader push by Rio2016 to leave a lasting, positive legacy on the region. Their recent ASC certification means that Netuno can play a key role in providing responsibly sourced fish in some of the estimated 14 million meals to be served during the Games, an operation that has been described as the largest peacetime catering enterprise in the world.

“We are very excited to be able to offer the first certified responsible seafood from Brazil,” said Andre M. Brugger, Vice President of the Brazilian Institute for Sustainable Development (IABS) and sustainability advisor to Netuno. “We studied the market and the protocols of all certification programmes available and the one that suited our ambition was ASC. We believe that ASC certification will benefit Brazilian exports because it will show a commitment to socio-environmental sustainable development. Operators who want to improve their numbers on international trade should become certified.”

Marine Stewardship Council

Situated just outside the city of Paulo Afanso in Bahia, Brazil, Netuno is a leader in the production and export of seafood around the world. In order to become ASC certified, the farm undertook preparation activities including training their staff to record critical data such as the rate of escapes, predator casualties and calculated their phosphorous and nitrogen footprint.

Netuno believes that ASC certification and the opportunities it brings will provide new possibilities for the underserved communities in northeast Brazil that have previously lacked access to other forms of agriculture due to conditions in the area. According to Andre, “Aquaculture is one of the best options for this region if done under rigid sustainable criteria like the ones that ASC applies.

“We are most proud of the great interaction that we have with the community. The water quality of the lake on which we have operations— 11 billion cubic meters lake with 1,200 cubic meters renovation per second—and the fact that we do not use any chemicals or antibiotics in any of our supply chain helps us maintain positive relationships with residents and those we share the lake with,” said Andre.

Aquaculture Stewardship Council

The ASC promotes responsibly farmed seafood by working together with its partners to help guide the industry towards an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible future through a certification and labelling programme. The ASC farm standards were developed by more than 2,000 stakeholders globally and adhere to ISEAL’s Code of Good Practice for Setting Social and Environmental Standards.

The ASC Tilapia standard focus on both the environmental and social impacts associated with poorly managed tilapia farming. Common issues are minimised through globally applied standards that address the key impact of farm operations on local ecosystems, biodiversity, and local communities. Farms in the programme must also have a plan in place to avoid and appropriately address disease outbreaks and processes that minimise escapes, including catching devices installed to recapture any fish that do.

The programme requires tilapia farms to adhere to strict limits on the use of wild fish as an ingredient for feed and also requires them to record various water parameters including nitrogen, phosphorus and oxygen levels at regular intervals to ensure they remain within set limits.

All ASC certified farms are safe and equitable working environments where employees earn a decent wage and have regulated working hours. The strict requirements of the programme are based on the core principles of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), and include prohibitions on the use of child labour or any form of forced labour. In addition, certified producers liaise directly with communities to solve conflicts and complaints.

Read more HERE

The Aquaculturists
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Thursday, June 2, 2016

02/06/2016: Court of Appeal orders Sernapesca to release information about antibiotics used in the Chilean salmon farming industry

Earlier this week, the Court of Appeals of Santiago accepted the claim submitted by marine conservation organisation Oceana, and ordered the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service of Chile (Sernapesca) to publish the information, disaggregated by company– requested by Oceana, concerning antibiotic use by the salmon industry in Chile in 2014.

A Chilean fish farm

This claim was filed after 37 companies, and subsequently Sernapesca and the Council for Transparency, refused to disclose such data on the grounds of “competitive and business risk” for the companies. The Court’s ruling qualifies as “illegal” the prior resolution issued by the Council for Transparency.

“We welcome this extensive 38-page resolution whereby the Court of Appeals questions the inexplicable determinations by the Council for Transparency, Sernapesca and 37 salmon farming companies to refuse to disclose public interest information such as the amount of antibiotics used by each company, even though six companies agreed to the request.

We expect for this categorical ruling to set a precedent, that salmon farms comply with it and that once and for all, the use of antibiotics in Chilean salmon farming can be made transparent”, said Liesbeth van der Meer, interim executive director of Oceana.

The resolution by the Court of Appeals states that “this Court cannot but notice the fact that the Council for Transparency decides to keep certain secret niches within a system where publicity is the rule and secrecy the exception; and this regarding certain data of the companies of the said industry –which are under the control of state agencies to which they should submit all such data and background information required for their adequate enforcement– particularly considering that these companies produce fish for human consumption."

The statement concluded that, by stating that, "not only the aforementioned control is required –specifically by Sernapesca– but also, as valid and as relevant, social control, so that citizens are able to know how the species they purchase and consume have been produced.”

Furthermore, the ruling states that “the information required [by Oceana] strongly compromises public interest and therefore, its disclosure should prevail over any other interest by companies refusing such disclosure.”

This ruling follows the information request made in 2015 by Oceana concerning disaggregated data on antimicrobials used by salmon farms in 2014.

There is a simultaneous constitutional unenforceability requirement filed before the Constitutional Court filed by Multiexport and other 22 salmon companies aimed at preventing the disclosure of information on antibiotic use broken-down by company between 2009 and 2013.

This battle began in July 2014 when Oceana submitted a complaint before the Council for Transparency, after Sernapesca refused to reveal the amount and type of antibiotics used by 58 salmon farms operating in Chile.

This, following the resistance by 50 salmon farms on the grounds that they would face “competitive and business risk” if they disclosed the required information. At the time, the Council for Transparency also ruled to the benefit of the salmon companies, stating that Sernapesca was not required to disclose disaggregated figures except in special cases.

Subsequently, the Court of Appeals of Santiago accepted the claim filed by Oceana; however, Multiexport submitted a constitutional unenforceability complaint which has still not been addressed by the Constitutional Court.

“We expect this ruling to become a precedent for the other ongoing proceeding. We make a call to the Constitutional Court to reject the unenforceability requirement filed by the salmon farms, putting an end to this lack of transparency and giving citizens something as basic as access to public interest information directly related to health and the environment”, concluded van der Meer.

Read more HERE

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

01/06/2016: Will new aquaculture venture help heavy metal band to become the next Metalli-Koi?

A HEAVY metal band have relocated from their London base – to operate a koi carp fish farm on the bleak Welsh Denbigh Moors.

Skreamer: Landing success using fretts and fish

Rock band Skreamer fell in love with North Wales in 2013, and have now relocated to the Hafod Hall Koi Farm near the Alwen reservoir, according to an article recently published by DenbighshireFreePress.com. But this is a business venture rather than an example of rock star excess.

The band, who have more than 43,000 followers on Facebook, have released hard rock albums such as Blackened Earth. In their new rural location they don’t have to worry about annoying the neighbours when they turn their amps up to eleven.

However, one band practice was disrupted by the bleating of a flock of sheep.
Samuel Morter, lead guitarist and front man for the band, said: “London is so hectic, we wanted to move to somewhere quiet, and a North Wales band we met on tour suggested we think about North Wales.

“We loved it here straight away, it is so quiet and peaceful, it's absolutely amazing. Everyone is so friendly too. We're always touring and coming back from tour to these beautiful surroundings is wonderful.”

Samuel, along with his parents and the other three band members Mitchel Ekkis, Steve Walker, and Adam Kniveton all relocated to North Wales at the end of 2014. Their passion for sustainable living led to them opening the Japanese Koi farm.

"The music industry isn't what it was, it is always changing, and can be unpredictable, so we wanted to run a business doing something we are passionate about that would enable us to continue doing what we love in the music industry," added Samuel.

"We are mad about ecology and use as many renewable products as we can, and my dad had a lot of knowledge about koi and it went from there really."

Skreamer have no plans to return to the bright lights of London. Samuel added: "I'll always be a Londoner but every time I go back there I get withdrawals and want to return to Wales!

"We are so glad we came here."