2. Definition/Concepts
• There is unprecedented growth in the
demand for certified organic food, and new
areas of organic food production, such as
seafood, are proving increasingly popular.
• In reference to the Codex Alimentarius
Commission (2011), organic aquaculture
refers to “the production processes and
practices of ecological production
management systems that promote and
enhance biodiversity, biological cycles
and biological activity”
3. It is based on minimal use of off-farm
inputs and on holistic management
practices that restore, maintain and
enhance species diversity and ecological
harmony
More generally, the primary goal of organic
agriculture is to optimize the health and
productivity of interdependent
communities of soil life, plants, animals
and people
4. History
• Historically, organic aquaculture is rooted in
the organic agriculture movement, and these
roots continue to shape the sector in many
respects
• Organic farmers and organic farming
associations in Austria and Germany first
started to develop extensive “organic” carp
production systems in the early nineties
• The earliest standard was established in
1994 in Austria for common carp (Cyprinus
carpio)
• The development of organic carp production
took place without great public attention.
• This situation changed with the establishment
5. • Naturland (Germany) established what would become
the fundamentals of international organic aquaculture.
• The successful launch of organic salmon, first in
Germany and later in the United Kingdom and France,
accelerated the development process of organic
aquaculture initiatives throughout the world
• A further milestone in the history of organic
aquaculture was the development of organic shrimp
standards
• Not only did organic shrimp farming promise to solve
many of the environmental problems related to
intensive conventional production, it also offered an
alternative business model for the shrimp industry,
suffering at the time from extremely low prices
• The first national general standards for organic
aquaculture were established by France and the
United Kingdom in 2000.
• The first global organic aquaculture criteria were
established by the International Federation of Organic
Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) in 2000.
6. In continental Europe, organic trout and
charr production took off; a big organic
Pangasius catfish project was started in
Vietnam by the Germany-based seafood
company Binca Seafoods; organic tilapia
farming started in Israel, Ecuador, and
Honduras; and in the Mediterranean,
seabass and sea-bream farms were
converted to organic management
7.
8.
9. Status of organic aquaculture
• A large proportion of organically certified
aquaculture products are produced in developing
countries and processed and shipped to their
markets.
• In 2008, total organic aquaculture production
globally was around 53 500 tonnes with a total
market value of 300 million USD
• This was produced by 240 certified operations, of
which 72 are situated in China.
• There were 30 species in certified organic
aquaculture production in 29 countries.
• To date, around 80 different organic aquaculture
standards exist, of which there are 18 in the
countries of the European Union (EU)
10. Production
• The total global production
from organic aquaculture
increased by 950 percent,
from 5 000 tonnes/year in
2000 to 53 500 tonnes per
year in 2008, produced by
240 certified organic
aquaculture operations in
29 different countries
Based on data from 2008, the majority (25 000 tonnes/year) of organic
aquaculture production is farmed in Europe, followed by Asia (19 000
tonnes/
year) and Latin America (7 000 tonnes/year). By individual countries,
China
leads with 15 300 tonnes/year, followed by the UK (9 900 tonnes/year)
and
11. Species
• The number of species from organic
aquaculture has increased from four species
in 2000 to around 30 species in 2009,
including at least 15 finfish species, six
crustacean species, at least one molluscan
species, one holothurian, one turtle, and at
least four species of microalgae
• By species, salmon had the highest
production of 16 000 tonnes/year in 2008,
followed by “shrimp” (combining Litopenaeus
vannamei and Penaeus monodon) with 8 800
tonnes/year and common carp with 7,200
tonnes/year
12. • The main fish species in organic aquaculture
are “carp”, “trout”, Atlantic salmon (Tveteras,
2000), “pangasius”, “tilapia”, “seabream”,
European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax),
meagre (Argyrosomus regius) and red drum
(Sciaenops ocellatus).
• The main species of shellfish are whiteleg
shrimp (L. vannamei), giant tiger prawn (P.
monodon), pink shrimp (Metapenaeus ensis),
giant river prawn (Macrobrachium
rosenbergii), blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) and
Chilean mussel (M. chilensis). The three
species with the largest production volumes
are Atlantic salmon, “shrimp”, and
“pangasius”
13. Production issues
• One of the main requirements for species to
be eligible for certification under organic
aquaculture standards is the requirement for
a closed life cycle in captivity
• not permitted to commit a new introduction of
a species into a country or location in which it
previously did not exist specifically for the
purpose of organic aquaculture
• The maintenance of biodiversity on the
aquaculture site is a key aspect of most
organic aquaculture standards
14. Generally, polyculture is the
recommended system for organic
aquaculture, where several species
occupy distinctly separate feeding niches
within the aquaculture ecosystem
Ponds and cages are recommended
rearing systems for organic aquaculture.
Tank systems are permitted only for
hatcheries and nurseries but not for grow-
out operations on farms
15. • The stocking density of cultured species is limited
(e.g. by limiting the number of individuals per unit
area or per volume of water) in order to
approximate conditions as they would occur in the
wild and to avoid stress as well as the tendency
towards intensification.
• The use of mechanical aeration is usually banned,
while an exception is made only for mechanical
mixing and de-stratification of the water column for
a limited number of hours per day with a small
number of devices
• Several organic aquaculture standards require the
monitoring of effluent quality, with the stated goal
of avoiding negative impacts on the surrounding
environment.
16. Principle of organic aquaculture
standards
• Absence of GMOs(genetically modified
organisms) in stocks and feed prime material
: focusing on vegetable feed ingredients (e.g.
soy beans) and feed additives derived from
bio-technology, as well as on transgenic,
triploid and all-female stock
• Limitation of stocking density: considering
ecological capacity of site and species
specific behavior of animals e.g. shrimps: 15
PL/ m3, resp. maximum 800kg/ha per
production cycle.
• Origin of vegetal feed and fertilizer from
certified organic agriculture, no artificial feed
ingredients and networking of organic
operations
17. • Criteria for fishmeal sources; in general,
decreased protein and fishmeal content of
diet: permitted are trimmings of fish
processed for human consumption or by-
catches; no dedicated fishmeal harvesting
operations e.g. shrimps: maximum 20%
fishmeal/ -oil and maximum 25% total
protein.
• No use of inorganic fertilizer: recycling of
nutrients instead of intensive inputs.
• No use of synthetic pesticides and
herbicides: maintaining natural diversity on
the farm area
• Restriction on energy consumption (e.g.
regarding aeration) as a general trend;
deintensification of operations, lowering of
input.
18.
19.
20.
21. The role of IFOAM
• The International Federation of Organic
Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) is the world
umbrella organization of the organic farming
movement.
• IFOAM runs the International Organic
Accreditation System (ISOAS) and the
International Basic Standards (IBS) criteria.
• IFOAM is further represented in policy-
setting procedures, e.g. the EU and the
USDA.
• IFOAM is a member of the International
Social and Environmental Accreditation and
Labelling Alliance (ISEAL), the global
association for social and environmental
standards
22. Table 2: Draft IFOAM general principles concerning organic
aquaculture production
Conversion to Organic Aquaculture
• Conversion to organic aquaculture is a process of developing farming
practices that encourage and maintain a viable and sustainable aquatic
ecosystem. The time between the start of organic management and
certification of the production is known as the conversion period.
• Aquaculture production methods can vary widely according to biology of
the organisms, technology used, geographical conditions, ownership
structure, time span, etc. These aspects should be considered when the
length of conversion is specified.
Basic Conditions
• Management techniques must be governed by the physiological and
ethological needs of the organisms in question. The organisms should be
allowed to meet their basic behavioural needs. Management techniques,
especially when applied to influence production levels and speed of
growth must maintain and protect the good health and welfare of the
organisms.
• When introducing non-native species, special care must be to avoid
permanent disruption to natural ecosystems.
23. Location of Production Units
• Location of organic production units maintains the health of the aquatic
environment and surrounding aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem.
Location of Collecting Areas
• Wild, sedentary/sessile organisms in open collecting areas may be certified as
organic if they are derived from an unpolluted, stable and sustainable
environment.
Health and Welfare
• Management practices achieve a high level of disease resistance and
prevention of infections.
• All management techniques, especially when influencing production levels and
speed of growth maintain the good health and welfare of the organisms. Living
aquatic organisms should be handled as little as possible.
• The well being of the organisms is paramount in the choice of treatment for
disease or injury.
Breeds and Breeding
• Breeding strategies and practices in organic aquaculture interfere as little as
possible with natural behaviour of the animals. Natural breeding methods are
used.
24. Nutrition (Aquaculture)
• Organic aquaculture production provides a good quality diet balanced
according to the nutritional needs of the organism. Feed is only offered to the
organisms in a way that allows natural feeding behaviour, with minimum loss
of feed to the environment.
• Feed compromises by-products from organic food processing and wild marine
feed resources not otherwise suited for human consumption.
Harvesting
• Harvesting certified organic aquatic organisms from enclosures or collecting
areas creates minimum stress to the organisms. The act of collection does not
negatively affect natural areas.
Transportation of Living Marine Animals
• The transportation medium should be appropriate for the species with regards
to water quality, including salinity, temperature, oxygen, etc. Transportation
distance, duration and frequency should be minimised.
Slaughter
• Slaughter process minimises the stress and suffering of the organism.
• Slaughter management and techniques governed by careful consideration of
the physiology and ethology of the organisms in question and accepted ethical
standards.
Source: IFOAM, 2002
25. Consumer perspective
• A suite of attributes characterize organic
products in the eyes of the consumer.
• These can be grouped into categories of
environment (“naturally grown”,
“sustainable”), health (“healthy”, “pure”,
“no additives”, “good for my young
children”), consumption (“taste”,
“texture”), social (“fair”) and lifestyle
(“special treat”).
• These have been summarized by some
under the descriptor of LOHAS, or
Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability, as
is currently pervasive
26. Organic certification
standards and labels
• Around 80 different organic aquaculture
certification standards exist, both public as well as
private, of which those with the greatest number of
certified farms are Naturland, AB France and Bio
Suisse
• These constitute a consensus “minimum”
standard, while other existing standards are
stricter in their requirements.
• One of the issues of debate is that there is no
limit to the percentage of fishmeal in feeds for
coldwater species such as trout, Atlantic salmon
and cod, whereas for warmwater species such as
shrimp, tilapia and pangasius there is a
permissible fishmeal limit of 10 percent in their
organic feeds, while for tilapia, fishmeal in the feed
27. Inspection and certification
bodies
• Although standards are set by private, national or
intergovernmental organizations or institutions, the
inspections or audits of the farms are conducted by
independent “third party” inspection bodies (IBs) who
are hired to provide the service, usually at the
recommendation of the standard-setting body.
• The actual certification is conducted by certification
bodies, i.e. the institutions setting and maintaining the
standards.
• These are normally accredited according to ISO 65
according to their operational procedures of standard
setting, commissioning third-party IBs to conduct
independent audits and annual inspections
• Several countries have formulated national standards
and strategies for up-scaling of organic aquaculture,
for example, Thailand, which reflects government
commitment and support to the growth of the sector
28. CURRENT STATUS OF
ORGANIC AQUACULTURE IN
INDIA
• Compared to organic agriculture, organic
aquaculture is far behind in the organic niche
of the country.
• The brackish water area available in India for
shrimp farming includes the existing
traditional prawn filtration fields also, which
are located in West Bengal (46100 ha) and
Kerala (10700 ha).
• The traditional type of prawn filtration system
is highly environment-friendly as they use no
antibiotics, chemicals, etc and hence the
paddy fields can easily be adopted for
organic aquaculture
29. • The Indian Organic Aquaculture Project was first
initiated in January 2007 in the maritime States of
Andhra Pradesh and Kerala with technical
consultancy from M/s Blueyou
• Certification is mandatory for selling organic
products across the world and
• Naturland of Germany has been chosen as the
certifying agency and Indocert in Kerala is the
inspection body for the project. Farmers,
hatcheries, feed mill and processors are motivated
for organic conversion to produce organic products
for exporting from India
• MPEDA proposed to implement organic
aquaculture in India by availing the consultancy and
technical collaboration from the Swiss Import
Promotion Programme (SIPPO), Zurich,
Switzerland. In this context, MPEDA has signed a
MoU with SIPPO in January, 2007 at Chennai
during INDAQUA 2007 to launch the programme.
30. Organic Scampi Aquaculture
in Andhra Pradesh
• The National Centre for sustainable
Aquaculture (NaCSA) and India Organic
Aquaculture Project (IOAP), MPEDA took
up organic fresh water prawn (M.
Rosenbergii) farming in two societies of
West Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh.
• A total of 27 farmers, from Sri Venkateswara
Aqua Farmers Welfare Society, Matsyapuri
and Sri Sainadha Aqua Farmers welfare
Society, Velivela were involved in the project
covering 31 ha area.
