Aquaculture: Better business practices
WWF believes that sustainable management must be incorporated into the business ethic and culture of the aquaculture industry.
To help with this, we are working towards the development of a code of conduct for responsible aquaculture, as well as the development of Best Management Practices and an associated certification scheme. This work includes:
- Protection of vulnerable species and habitats: WWF is promoting the identification and protection of vulnerable species and habitats before any new aquaculture development takes place. We are asking that Environmental Impact Assessements (EIA) be conducted for large-scale projects and for regions where several smaller projects are operating in close proximity. We are also asking the aquaculture industry not to operate in areas where the activity is likely to cause serious or irreversible effects on vulnerable species or habitats, and to avoid operating in Marine Protected Areas. We are additionally asking the industry to avoid physically damaging coastal ecosystems and structures, and causing negative impacts on coastal communities.
- Sustainable use of marine resources: WWF is asking that fish used for fish oil and fishmeal only come from healthy, well-managed, and sustainable stocks. The industry should make the necessary effort to find more sustainable alternatives, preferably fish offal and fish waste, plants, or fish from independently certified fisheries. In addition, if wild species are caught for further growing in farms or nurseries, the catch must be in accordance with adequate fisheries management and avoid species that are threatened, or that come from stocks that are not healthy and well managed.
- Limiting the impact of farms on habitats and wild species: WWF is asking that pollutants such as waste nutrients, toxic chemicals, pathogens, pharmaceuticals, and other substances not be discharged in harmful concentrations. We are also asking that there be no transmission of diseases or parasites to wild species; that exotic species and breeds be farmed in closed systems where the potential for escapes can be largely eliminated; that genetically modified fish not be developed for aquaculture; and that the illegal capture or culling of fish, mammals, birds, and other animals that have interactions with farming systems cease.
Certification scheme for Best Management Practices
While well-enforced legislation can improve industry practices, certification schemes based on Best Management Practices can drive industry to minimize its impacts even further by helping producers gain a market advantage.
There is already wide support for an aquaculture certification scheme amongst several governments, producers, large retailers and distributors, and investors.Furthermore, research by the Shrimp Farming and the Environment Consortium shows that Best Management Practices for the shrimp farming industry, for example, can effectively address its impacts on the environment, and, in many cases, these practices pay for themselves within just two to three years.
WWF is therefore working to develop an aquaculture certification programme that effectively minimizes the environmental impacts of aquaculture. The work, which is supported by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, aims to identify which aquaculture species are most suitable for certification, determine Better Management Practices for these species, and use these as the basis for the certification programme.
To ensure that all issues surrounding aquaculture are adequately addressed, many stakeholders being consulted. These include aquaculture producers, businesses that buy and sell aquaculture products (e.g. distributors, retailers, restaurant chains, and chefs), researchers and scientists, NGOs, community groups, consumers, governments, and other public interest groups.
Further information:
- WWF's aquaculture certification work
- WWF's Best Management Practices work
- WWF's position on intensive marine fish aquaculture (doc)
- WWF's work on certification of wild-caught fish
