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Organic Aquaculture

Aquaculture is the fastest growing food sector. But marine fish farming has been heavily criticized for its environmental impacts, including pollution from fish waste and uneaten food, escapees, chemicals to control disease and parasites, and ecological impacts of sourcing raw materials from the sea to produce fish. In the past decades aquaculture around the world has been pursued only on basis of economic costs without considering the social costs and negative impacts on the environment. Over the past decades, aquaculture has diversified and intensified contributing significantly to economic and social well being in many countries. Of this a large scale of production comes from the small scale producers in developing countries like India.. For many developing countries aquaculture is an economically most important activity. Not only that it produces a high-prized export product, it also offers employment to an increasing number of people.

Today, the demand in the importing countries for high quality safe shrimps raised in an eco friendly manner adopting good management practices has become an essential pre requisite for Indian shrimp export. The present market and trade conditions have begun to demand all shrimp producers too comply positively with importing standards and requirements, without which export of Indian shrimps may not compete in the international market. This market condition is not only exerting pressure on the producers to focus on production standards but also challenges producing countries like India to develop /implement appropriate policies, regulations, institutions to safe guard social equity and environmental integrity for pursuing responsible shrimp production for a fair trade. The shrimp farming sector has great potential to improve production standards both inside and outside the pond there by adhering to the requirements of international market as well as to gain greater understand for better production strategies and greater income to producers by minimized environmental impacts. The purpose to shrimp certification is to enhance the market share for the shrimp produced by responsible methods, inputs and practices that would meet the expectations of socially and environmentally aware consumers.

The goal of certification is to rewards producers who have complies with better practices and management systems that would reduce environmental impacts increase the efficiency of their resources used and who have maintained exemplary social responsibility and interactions with other local stakeholders.

The brackish water area available in India for shrimp farming includes the existing traditional prawn filtration fields also, which are located in Kerala and West Bengal. The vast filtration areas are actually paddy fields, where they do salt resistant paddy cultivation. The traditional type of prawn filtration system is highly environment friendly as they use no antibiotics, chemicals etc and hence paddy fields can easily adopt for organic aquaculture. The coal lands in Kerala and the farms in Kuttanadu, Alleppey districts are also doing aquaculture close to organic after their paddy crops. The problems with aquaculture today is the use of wild fish for farmed fish feed, chemical and antibiotic usage, disease transfer, genetically modified species, massive destruction of mangrove forests for shrimp farm construction etc Organic aquaculture ensures that the farming activity is in harmony with the nature, with due care for the good health and welfare of the cultured organisms. Organic products have become very popular now a days due to rise in health and environmental awareness, concerns on food safety and there is a growing demand in developed countries, especially; US, EU, etc. The premium for the organic products is also high in the international markets.

Organic aquaculture principles includes Careful selection of sites for aquaculture farms, Protection of adjacent eco systems, Prohibition of chemicals, Natural remedies and treatments in the case of disease, Feed stuff from organic agriculture, Fish meal and oil in feed derived from by products of fish processed for human consumption (no dedicated “feed fishery”), Prohibition of GMO neither in feed stuff, nor in the stock itself, Processing according to organic standards.

Certification benefits

Certification schemes assure a consumer, demand driven incentive for certified products, which should contribute to sustainable production and improvements in product quality and competitiveness. Some of the benefits of certified products could include:

1. price premium on produce

2. Market access for responsibly produced product.

3. Reduced risk for buyers and consumers.

4. Improved shrimp farming systems, environmental provisions and skills.

5. Improved farmers relations with stake holders.

We need to take organic aquaculture seriously and be fully committed to finding solutions. Organic aquaculture will offer many exciting opportunities, provided there is a willingness to promote its produce. Fish farmers need to be more open to organic principles, while those involved in promoting and regulating organic food need to understand the fundamental differences and characteristics of farming in water. It is a real challenge for the international organic movement, to develop this sector in a sustainable way.

Keeping all these things in mind Foundation for Organic Agriculture and Rural Development is offering the following services in the Organic Aquaculture Sector

1. Providing advisory services to set up Organic Aquaculture farms for certification

2. Providing advisory services to hatchery, feed mills and processing plants to obtain certification as per required standards.

3. Providing advisory services to set up internal control system for small holder group certification.