Tag certification

Although today’s soybeans offer many benefits, farmers can also plant alternatives, sometimes on the same farms that raise genetically modified beans. Organic beans meet specific market demands, and a conventionally bred non-GMO bean has been developed for use in aquafeeds for carbohydrate-intolerant marine fish. 

One of the most important ways to prepare for certification audits is through staff meetings that review job descriptions and management practices, as well as employee behavior, such as hygiene and record keeping. Internal auditing is also key to a positive outcome for audits. 

Private aquafeed certification standards have been developed to bring trust and demonstrate responsible industry practices among aquafeed manufacturing stakeholders. 

While there are environmental, social and economic benefits from aquaculture facility certification, farms bear most of the costs, at least initially: procedures, equipment and services to achieve compliance. There are risks that new procedures could affect productivity and raise production costs. 

In the international aquaculture trade, producers have lots of information on how their fish or shrimp were produced, but buyers may know little about a product’s safety, origins or environmental and social impacts. 

It is time to recognize the crucial role of small-scale farmers in Asian aquaculture production and trade. The socially and economically important small-scale sector – the “mainstay” of Asian aquaculture – is innovative, but faced with constraints in modern markets. The sector needs investment from public and private sectors to compete and thrive. Another challenge is to develop certification programs in ways that promote responsible aquaculture expansion with due consideration to small-scale farming. 

Assessing disease risk at an aquaculture facility allows the anticipation of possible outbreaks and subsequent production losses. It can also help to identify weaknesses of the production system.