March 27, 2007

US groups want to deny use of organic label for fish from open-net cages
 

Fish from open-net cages and fish raised using fishmeal or other wild caught fish should not be labeled organic, according to the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) livestock committee.

The group is recommending that fish from these two sources be excluded from forthcoming United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic aquaculture standards. 

The recommendation is backed by three other major groups as the topic comes up for discussion March 29.

No matter how stringent, open net-cages simply cannot be organic, said Dom Repta, from the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform. Open net-cage technology does not prevent the discharge of untreated waste or the escape of farmed fish. Moreover, the practice also promotes the transfer of sea lice to wild salmon and contaminates food sources in the wild.

Although the groups support organic certification of non-carnivorous fish farmed in closed systems, the farming of carnivorous fish in open net-cage systems violates core organic principles, they said.

They cited scientific evidence that shows open net-cage fish farms cannot meet the standards for ecological protection required for organic practicioners. The volume of fish used to feed carnivorous species is more than the fish volume produced, thus further taxing ocean resources.

The USDA must now take a strong stance on organic aquaculture certification to ensure that the entire 'organic' label is not diluted, said Andrea Kavanagh, director of the Pure Salmon Campaign. 

Consumers are increasingly seeing imported seafood products labeled as "organic" in US supermarkets when they were actually products from open net-cages and chemicals were used to control parasites and diseases.

US law does not provide for the labeling of organic seafood currently, Joseph Mendelson, Legal Director for the Center for Food Safety said.  Any products labeled as such mislead consumers, he added. The USDA should stop this threat to the label and enforce the law, he added.

The Pure Salmon Campaign and the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform are working to improve the sustainability of the industry by encouraging a transition from open net-cages to closed containment systems to eliminate the environmental problems associated with open net-cage fish farms.