What is organic and sustainable seafood?

Stricter requirements by consumers regarding food
Environment and cleanliness - fewer additives, chemicals or medicines
Focus on the animals being grown in as close to natural surroundings as possible
Consumers who choose organic seafood are conscious consumers who wish to choose among products which satisfy their requirements
Organic certification shall ensure this

Increased scepticism to industrial food production - why?

Mad cow disease (BSE), salmonella, dioxin controversies, genetically modified raw goods, Avian 'flu, as well as foot-mouth disease - free trade with food articles has increased (imported goods are sometimes marked as being Norwegian)

The EEA agreement assumes that Norway makes adjustments in relation to supranational rules in order to safeguard equal competition in various markets (i.e. MRL 1 Oct. 2002) - more of the responsibility for choosing is at present placed with the consumers themselves. The consumers must be informed, and the way that is done is by "marking" the goods. The organic mark is one of these. In Norway it is Debio's mark which is used. In Sweden it is Krav and in Germany it is Naturland.

Debio is the inspection and approval agency in Norway for all organic production, processing, sales and imports. The concept "organic" is protected, and goods can only be sold as organic when the producer has been approved by Debio (www.debio.no).

In organic aquaculture the aim is that natural resources are managed in such a way that harmful effects on the environment are minimized / avoided. The system is based mainly on local and renewable resources. The aim of organic aquaculture is to obtain a positive interaction with the surroundings.

Requirements regarding feed represent one of the great differences between conventional and organic farming. The requirements by the Norwegian certification agency (Debio) are that a given amount of the fish meal that is used in feed shall come from fish offal. Raw vegetable goods which are used in feed shall be produced organicly. In addition, other additives such as vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and colouring shall come from natural sources or be as close to their natural form as possible. Synthetic, growth-promoting additives are prohibited.

The health and welfare of the fish is in focus in organic farming. Biological disease control is preferred over use of chemical substances where it is possible and sufficiently effective, i.e. use of cleanerfish to control salmon lice. Artificial lighting is allowed to prevent early sexual maturity and spawning in the net cages. Artificial day length cannot be longer than the year's longest natural day length for the locality. In open installations, artificial light can only be used in the form of subsea lighting.

If it becomes necessary to use medicines the retention time is the double that stated in ordinary provisions. To prevent escape, visual inspection of the nets must take place monthly at a minimum, i.e. by diving or use of cameras.

In order to reduce the stress on the fish, Debio sets maximum limits in its rules for water temperature at the installation. For salmon and trout the temperature over a longer period of time (more than one week), shall not exceed 20 °C. When there is a risk of exceeding this value limit the installation shall be equipped with suitable equipment and solutions to solve it.

Maximum density in organic fish farming is 15 kg/m3 (cod). Debio has set clear limits for transportation of living fish. Maximum density in a wellboat with water through-flow is set at 50 kg/m3. Regarding destruction for processing the fish shall be anaethetised by electric stunners that are approved by the authorities.

Experience from organic farming, written by the leader of the Villa Bio security Group, Per Gunnar Kvenseth:

Organic fish farming represents a very small part of the Norwegian fish farming industry. Only four companies: Flakstadvåg Laks (AS), Villa Miljølaks AS, Troika Seafarm AS and Villa Codfarm AS - the last three in the Villa Organic Group, have focused over the years on the development of organic fish farming. The companies have certified their production through the Norwegian certification agency Debio. The development of this type of niche production makes large demands on the producer, since new challenges stand in line in the "forming phase". The further examples are obtained from the development of organic fish farming by Villa.

One of the objectives is that farming of the organisms is in accordance with the applicable rules for organic production throughout the whole life cycle. Until the production form is more established, importation of organisms is allowed from conventional production with a subsequent quarantine period. These organisms can be regarded as ecological when they have reached a minimum of 2/3 of the lifetime calculated from hatching, in a system described in the rules. During the quarantine period operation shall be fully in accordance with the rules for organic operation, and inspections by Debio are required during this period.

Farming of organic certified salmon, according to the same principles regarding the whole of the lifecycle, is found only partially in Norway at present. There is extensive development work remaining concerning organic brood stock.

The use of environmentally harmful chemical impregnation substances is prohibited. Fouling of production equipment shall be removed mechanically or biologically. This was a great challenge concerning traditional impregnation of nets with copper-based impregnation. Together with producers of impregnation substances a substance has now been developed which does not contain environmentally harmful chemicals and which "packs" the threads of the nets tighter together and creates a smooth surface. This is much simpler to keep clean with the aid of divers than a completely untreated net.

The use of subsea lighting to prevent early sexual maturity and spawning in the net cages is allowed for the time being with the use of artificial subsea lighting (Debio). In other sets of rules (Soil Association) the equivalent use of lighting is prohibited, and we are working with methods to harvest eggs from cod which become spawning mature and spawn naturally in the net cages during February - March.

Regarding feed, good progress has been made and at present there is growing feed available for production of organic salmon as well as cod. Increased volume of fry in organic fish farming will in time stimulate the production of the equivalent type of feed also for smaller fish. Concerning the development of brooding stock feed, the challenge is probably greater since in reality it is about feed for smaller groups of fish. Fish meal/fish oil is used in feed at present, based on offal from herring. It is a requirement by Debio that the fish population from which the offal comes must also be managed in a sustainable manner (i.e. certified by ICES, FAO or MSC). Then the bi products must be processed to fish meal in a factory which is approved for production of organic fish meal, and further mixed together with the other organic certified components in a factory approved for organic feed production. Concerning the vegetables which are added to fish feed (i.e. soya, wheat) these must be produced organic. In accordance with Debio's rules, the remainder of the additives shall be produced naturally as far as possible, in other words, Debio does not accept the addition of artificial (synthetic/growth promoting) antioxidants or colouring. In co-operation with Naturland, fisheries research in Bergen, has developed an organic approved antioxidant substance for fish feed, Vitalox, which replaces Etoxyquin. Here there is naturally produced vitamin E. As a replacement for the traditional synthetic colouring in the feed for salmon, Debio approves colour produced from prawn shells, algy, fungus and bacterial cultures. The most usual is colour from Phaffia, from a red yeast stem (Phaffia rhodozyma). Production of feed as well as the other factors involved in organic fish farming will understandably enough be somewhat more expensive than is the case with conventional fish farming.