It is the first time that a federal advisory board passed criteria that clear the way for farmed fish to be labeled “organic.” It is certainly pleased aquaculture producers even as it angered environmentalists and consumer advocates. The debate over issue whether farmed fish could be labeled organic, especially carnivorous species such as salmon that live in open-ocean net pens and consume vast amounts of smaller fish, has vexed scientists and federal regulators for years.
The National Organic Standards Board has approved the rules that will allow organic fish farmers to use wild fish as part of their feed mix provided it did not exceed 25 percent of the total and did not come from forage species, such as menhaden, that have declined sharply as the demand for farmed fish has skyrocketed. Wally Stevens, executive director of the Global Aquaculture Alliance, told that the challenge is to figure out how company can produce a healthy protein product with a proper regard to where the feed comes from.
On the contrary the environmentalists and consumer advocates have blasted the recommendations, which would serve as the basis for regulations to be issued by the Agriculture Department. Patty Lovera, assistant director of the advocacy group Food & Water Watch, informed that a huge part of the growth in organic is driven by people looking for food that comes with assurance.
George Leonard, a marine ecologist and aquaculture director for the Ocean Conservancy, said the board sought to accomplish the “extraordinarily complicated” task of establishing a sustainable farming practice that does not yet exist. It is said that federal officials and advisers have devoted enormous time and effort to developing an organic fish standard, reflecting the dramatic growth of the industry in recent years.
