Industry views sought on aqua feed standard: IFFO queries lack of metrics on soy
“This standard was devised to provide a means to reduce the environmental and social impact created by the production of raw materials used for aquaculture feed and it is desperately needed.
We are pleased with how the development phase of the standard is going. However the IFFO feels there is an over emphasis on the sustainability criteria in relation to fishmeal and fish oil.
Marine derived raw materials typically only comprise 10 to 15% by weight of an aqua feed ration, whereas the metrics in the draft standard on soy, a major ingredient in farmed fish diets, are limited,” said Andrew Jackson, technical director at the marine ingredients organization, IFFO.
But he acknowledged the huge interest from environmental NGOs in the sustainability of fishmeal and fish oil production and wild fisheries management given the finite nature of such raw materials.
“Aquaculture uses 60% of the fishmeal and fish oil available globally so the industry has huge buying power and influence and thus can play a role in encouraging compliance with the ASC standard, which will be the most comprehensive globally when it comes on stream,” Jackson, who is also a member of the ASC standard’s steering committee, told FeedNavigator.
The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) released the preliminary document for public consultation at the end of last month. It can be commented on until 11 September 2015.
Michiel Fransen, secretary for the ASC responsible feed project, said: "We began working on the ASC Feed Standard at the end of October 2013. Over the last 18 months a diverse group of experts has helped shape the content of this initial draft of the standard. This review is important to thoroughly test and challenge the draft before we move forward."
Outreach workshops
In addition to the online consultation, four outreach workshops will be organized to present the draft standard and gather feedback, said the ASC. The workshops will be held in Guangzhou in China, Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Bangkok in Thailand and Santiago in Chile.
The standard, which is applied to aqua feed manufacturing plants globally, will eventually replace the feed ingredient requirements within individual, species-specific ASC Farm Standards such as those for salmon, tilapia, and shrimp.
“It is most likely that the standard will initially be of interest to those who produce commercial extruded diets destined for ASC certified aquaculture farms,” said the Council.
The Council maintains that certification requirements for social and environmental responsibility, when they are adopted and compliance is verified appropriately, can help reassure retailers and consumers that the impacts related to aquaculture are minimized and mitigated to acceptable levels.
“Formulated feeds are an important component of the farming process for a number of key aquaculture species. Interest in the responsible use of aqua feeds is broader than managing the impacts of feed use in the farming system alone (e.g. controlling pollution from excessive use) and extends to questions about the environmental and social impact created by the production systems used to produce the various ingredients,” said the ASC.
The ASC said the benchmarking scheme will be the most exhaustive worldwide and will recognize producers who can demonstrate their environmentally and socially responsible feed sourcing methods to gain recognition for their efforts.
The requirements are intended to be a starting point, said the Council. It wants the benchmarking scheme to encourage continuous improvement and it calls for a high level of transparency around feed mill level data and monitoring to assist in future revisions of the standard.
As well as being applicable to feed mills seeking ASC certification the standard could be used by other certification programs as a reference point, said the organization.
“It is envisaged there will be common tools to measure feed producer compliance under the ASC standard and under existing ones such as the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) or the BAP feed mill standard.
A joined up approach, with each scheme positioning itself differently in the marketplace to allow feed mills to pace their adherence to sustainability milestones, is the best way forward,” said Jackson.
Following this round of consultation, the Council said it plans to ask industry to comment again on a revised version towards the end of 2015. The current draft ASC standard can be reviewed here.
