Volume 20 Issue 3 MAY/JUNE 2019
AQUACULTURE 2019
PROFILE
The business case for aquaculture certification Philippines hatchery raising ‘new green fish’ Farm owner says rearing African catfish easier on environment BY MARI-LEN DE GUZMAN
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EW ORLEANS – International certification can provide economic and operational advantages for aquaculture farms. This is according to Peter Cook, aquaculture consultant and professor at the University of Western Australia, in his plenary presentation at Aquaculture 2019. Making the business case for certification for aquaculture, Cook outlined several reports that indicate producers that go through the process of third-party certification have increased access to markets that they would not have had access to without certification. Some large retailers, for example, are moving toward sustainability and carrying only products that have obtained third-party certification. He cited Sainsbury,
a large supermarket chain in the U.K., has announced that by 2020 it will only sell fish that are independently certified as sustainable. Although aquaculture is becoming one of the fastest growing food production systems on the planet as world demand for protein continues to grow, it is not necessarily an activity with low environmental impact. “The sea is a major source of food but it’s not inexhaustible,” Cook, who is a member of the technical advisory board of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, says. “To produce more seafood without increasing harm to the environment or to future human populations, it will be necessary not only to find new and innovative ways to operate farms, but also to find ways to recognize and reward farms that do the right thing.” continued on page 17
SHELLFISH
Navigating the complexities of scallop rearing Farmers look to hatcheries for sustainable growth BY RUBY GONZALEZ
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Bay scallops from Ward Aquafarms’ floating downweller nursery system at approximately 20- mm shell height. (Credit: Ward Aquafarms)
high market demand, high market price and low competition for market share – these are the key indicators behind the big potential of farmed scallop in the U.S. market currently, according to Dr. Daniel Ward, owner of Ward Aquafarms in Massachusetts, U.S.A. Tapping deep into the potential requires a thorough understanding of optimizing growth and survival in nursery – which are very critical – as well as grow-out and overwintering phases. continued on page 25
BY RUBY GONZALEZ
oel Sims is a man on a mission. The hatchery and nursery owner in the Philippines wants to elevate the status of African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) as the “new green fish” and the country’s answer to food security. Catfish farming is good for the environment, he says. “Catfish can be stocked intensively per unit area with less energy and it can be fed dead livestock to convert it back to food instead of simply casting it away to produce methane gas during decomposition that contributes to global warming,” Sims tells Hatchery International during an interview at his hatchery in Valenzuela City in Metro Manila, Philippines. Comparing its grow-out stocking density in earthen ponds to tilapia’s, he says, “The harvest yield of tilapia from one hectare is 6,000 kg. For the catfish, it is 8,300 kg in 1,000 square meters.” The unique catfish respiratory system allows such a high stocking density, which, in turn, makes it an ideal species for food security.
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