The development of organic aquaculture as a sustainable food production system: exploring issues and challenges

摘要

Aquaculture production has increased dramatically in the EU since the 1970s, but recently concerns have been raised regarding the sustainability of the systems employed, particularly in terms of environmental and animal welfare impacts. A number of systems are being developed and applied in order to improve the overall sustainability of aquaculture production. Organic aquaculture has been claimed to be one of the most sustainable systems currently applied by the industry. However, a number of commentators are still concerned about the sustainability of the industry as a whole and a number of these concerns also relate to organic production systems. The UK Soil Association (S A) has only recently granted full status to their organic aquaculture standards (July 2006) and this potentially exemplifies the challenges that face not only the organic industry, but also the aquaculture industry as a whole, as they seek to develop sustainable methods. This paper explores the SA's work to develop organic standards for aquaculture and to manage the concerns raised about the sustainability of the current systems. For organic salmon and trout production the greatest challenge appears to relate to the use of sustainable sources of fish feeds and the animal welfare standards of the systems. Examining the recent development of UK SA organic aquaculture standards is an interesting case that may inform other aspects of the aquaculture sustainability debate. It is therefore hoped that this paper highlights a far more extensive empirically-led ethical analysis of these new standards, and the certified systems that result, is needed.