As you may have read, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) started working on aquaculture in 1994. Now that farmed seafood will be consumed in equal amounts as wild-caught seafood this year, there is a great need to engage all stakeholders in developing standards for responsible aquaculture. WWF has responded to this need by initiating 8 roundtables called the Aquaculture Dialogues. These Dialogues aim to produce standards that minimize negative environmental and social impacts for 12 species: shrimp, salmon, abalone, clams, mussels, scallops, oysters, Pangasius (a type of catfish), tilapia, trout, Seriola (yellowtail) and cobia.
The timelines for the other species are: shrimp (public review in December), salmon (open for public comment now) and bivalves (public comment closed Nov 30), tilapia (final standards are expected in Nov 2009), Pangasius (currently being revised after public comment period), abalone (first meeting was held this past June), trout (criteria have been drafted), and Seriola and Cobia (second meeting was held in September). While following all of the dialogues closely, FishWise is actively participating in the trout and shrimp dialogues.
The draft indicators for the Salmon Aquaculture Dialogues are now open for public comment. To read the drafts and comment online, please see the WWF page for salmon and comment form.
