Concerns over the 1st US guidelines on Farm-Raised Fish
Posted On February 22, 2011
More people now eat farm raised fish than wild caught fish!! That’s an amazing change, but one that just acknowledges the realities of our modern world.
But the general principle that, “There’s nothing so good that you can’t royally screw it up” particularly holds true in this case.
Policy toward industrial scale farming and Genetically Altered food products have been largely influenced by, and tilted in favor of, the food industry.
Here’s my concern
The food industry, of course, has their own interests in sculpting the regulations that will affect their industry. However, those interests do not necessarily align with those of consumers. They are not necessarily interests that will produce the healthiest product.
NOAA, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has proposed the nation’s first aquaculture policy, which it said responds to growing demand for local, safe, sustainably-produced seafood.
But the jury is definitely still out. We will just have to wait and see how these competing interests — consumers and their health on the one hand, versus a maximized profit margin on the other — work themselves out. Don’t hold your breath, this is likely to take some time.
More from the article
Domestic aquaculture – seafood that is farmed rather than caught in the wild – currently only accounts for about five percent of seafood consumed in the United States. Eighty-four percent the United States’ seafood is imported and about half of that comes from aquaculture, the NOAA said – and it expects demand, both in the US and worldwide, to increase rapidly.
Its new draft policy document has a strong focus on how domestic aquaculture can be carried out sustainably, which the agency said comes from growing interest in seafood’s health benefits as well as increasing consumer concern about how fish is produced.
“Growing consumer demand for safe, local, and sustainably produced seafood, increasing energy costs, and the decline of fishing-related industries and working waterfronts are emerging drivers that support sustainable domestic aquaculture production,” the NOAA said.
The policy document outlines general standards that aquaculture fisheries will have to meet in an effort to ensure minimum impact on wild fish stocks and marine ecosystems. These include recommending more research into alternative feeds for farmed fish so they are not fed smaller wild varieties, which contributes to the decline in wild fish populations, and a proposed ban on stocking fish farms with non-native fish, pending more research into potential outcomes if they should escape.
“Aquaculture production – both small-scale and large-scale – is evolving toward sustainable practices through regulations at the federal and state levels, scientific advancements, consumer demand, technological innovation, industry best management practices, and protocols for responsible stock replenishment and hatchery practices,” the document said.
Globally, the amount of seafood produced through aquaculture surpassed that caught in the wild for the first time in 2009, and with the ongoing depletion of wild fish stocks, the NOAA said it envisages the role of aquaculture to expand still further.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, global fish consumption has reached its highest ever level of about 17 kg per person each year, and supplies more than 3bn people with at least 15 percent of their average animal protein intake.
The NOAA draft aquaculture policy is available online here .
NOAA proposes first US aquaculture guidelines
For more information: Click here to visit Will Clower’s website.
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