Organic aquaculture: an overview

Aquaculture is a top producer of animal protein for human diets. Aquatic products are growing in terrestrial cow diets. Global demand for organic goods is rising. Conscious customers who consume aquatic goods and are interested in consuming nutritious organic food produced in sustainable ecosystems by farmers who earn a respectable livelihood are driving demand for organic aquaculture products. Aquaculture does not “fit” into the traditional organic paradigm as readily as most other product categories, despite global organic production standards and certification requirements. Organic standards are founded in soil-based agricultural systems, unlike many aquatic systems, notably marine systems. Applying the organic agriculture principles to aquaculture requires a different approaches—production system design that ensures ecosystem balance, biodiversity stewardship, and environmental contamination; animal welfare and feeding needs that respect the health of the organism, product quality, and expectations of feeding requirements along the lines of similar organic systems; and breeding obstacles. Private organic standards and government guidelines are difficult to develop due to the technological difficulty of conforming to the principles. The organic movement has lately come to a better understanding of how organic standards may handle challenges related to recirculating aquaculture systems (RASs), nonorganic feed materials, nonorganic breeding stock and juveniles, and other essential qualities. This new development helps define the industry, enabling faster expansion. This increased clarification impacts harmonization, the reduction of trade barriers, market-specific standards, and their equivalence (or lack thereof). International standards for product guarantees and verification increasingly include alternatives to third-party certification as genuine and acceptable ways for producers to reach markets regulators and customers can trust.