"Developments in Production and management practices, product standards, safety and quality"

Emilio A. M. Suntay III Managing Director Suntay Aquaculture Pty. Ltd. Australia & F.A.R.M. Inc. Phils.

(Founding Member Global Aquaculture Alliance) Director - Aquaculture Certification Council

Evolution of the Global Aquaculture Alliance

George Chamberlain President Global Aquaculture Alliance

Topics to be Discussed

Emergence of Issues

•

NGO movement Role of GAA

•

Gathering the Facts

• • •

Setting Standards Establishing a Certification Entity ACC Organizing the annual Global Shrimp Outlook

Emergence of Issues

The NGO movement

•

Important contribution by alerting public to hazards

• •

Proliferation of groups competing for funding Tendency to reduce facts to “soundbites.” Building Pressure in 1996

•

Indian Supreme Court Ruling

• • •

NGOs hosted second Shrimp Tribunal at UN Threatened consumer boycots Calls for moratorium on permits and financing

Industry Response

Concerns

•

Consumers need to know more about the products they buy and the impacts of their purchases.

•

Only one side of the story was being told.

Birth of GAA

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Conceptual Meeting in February, 97

• •

Non-profit trade association formed Membership by individuals, companies, and associations

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Dedicated to responsible aquaculture

The Mangrove Issue

Facts About Mangroves

GAA Study by Mangrove Experts in 1997

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ALL shrimp farming area (1,372,800 ha in 1996) amounts to only 7.6% of current mangrove area, and < 5% of the historic resource. GAA Initiated Responsible Aquaculture Program

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Recommendations adopted as GAA Codes of Practice for Responsible Shrimp Farming Conservation Practices Are Working

•

Use of mangrove area for new shrimp farms has essentially stopped.

•

Satellite imagery shows that forested mangrove area is increasing in Honduras and Ecuador.

The Fishmeal Issue

Aquaculture is “a contributing factor to the collapse of world fisheries.” (Science and Nature)

Facts about Fishmeal

• • • • •

16% of fishery stocks are “overfished” and 6% are “depleted”, but these are high value bottom fish.

Fishmeal production is stable at 6.5 million mt/year Aquaculture is displacing use for pigs, chickens, cattle. As Aquaculture grows, its share of fishmeal use is expected to increase from 35% to 60%.

Fishmeal substitutes are being developed.

19 84 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Fishmeal Aquaculture 19 87 19 90 19 93 19 96 19 99

The Effluent Issue

Chemical and biological pollution from disposal of pond effluents and sludge causing “habitat degradation” (Science)

Facts about Effluents

Variable

Total nitrogen (mg/L) Nitrite-nitrogen (mg/L) Nitrate-nitrogen (mg/L) Total ammonia N (mg/L) Total phosphorus (mg/L) Soluble reactive P(mg/L) Dissolved oxygen (mg/L) pH (standard units) 5-day BOD (mg/L) Total suspended solids (mg/L) Volatile suspended solids (mg/L) Chlorophyll a (



g/L)

Median

2.04

0.05

0.30

0.38

0.26

0.09

5.6

8.2

8.9

108 43 67

Min.

0.02

0.0

0.001

0.01

0.01

0.0

0.4

6.3

1.3

10 8 1

Max.

2,600 0.91

7.00

7.87

110 11.2

9.6

9.2

50.7

3,671 713 694

Quantitative Effluent Standards

Variable pH (standard units) Total suspended solids (mg/L) Initial Standard 6.0-9.5

100 or less Total phosphorus (mg/L) 0.5 or less Total ammonia nitrogen (mg/L) 5 or less Target Standard 6.0-9.0

50 or less 0.3 or less 3 or less 5-d BOD (mg/L) Dissolved oxygen (mg/L) 50 or less 4 or more 30 or less 5 or more

Sedimentation ponds and constructed wetlands to treat effluent for reuse or release

Salmonella Issue

Antibiotic Residues

What is Chloramphenicol?

Description

•

Chloramphenicol is a broad spectrum antibiotic used for human medicine

• •

Originally isolated from Streptomyces venezuelae Now produced synthetically Clinical

•

Antibiotic of choice for treating typhoid fever, other Salmonella infections, brain abscesses, etc.

•

Bacterial resistance develops quickly Toxicity

•

Potentially lethal side effects such as aplastic anemia and leukemia

GAA Responsible Aquaculture Program

The Evolution

•

Gathering Facts

• •

Codes of Practice Quantitative standards External Review of Standards

•

2 year process

•

Industry, Regulators, Academia, NGOs Next Step

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Independent Body Needed to Conduct Certifications

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Shrimp farms

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Processing plants Feedmills Hatcheries Analytical labs

Aquaculture Certification Council

Limited Liability Company

•

Independent Board and Committees Mission

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Third party certification of aquaculture facilities Activities

•

Train and accredit certifiers

• •

Revise standards as needed Establish and maintain traceability database Governance

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President Mr. William More

• •

Board of Directors Oversight Committee Website

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www.aquaculturecertification.org

Industry Support

Buyers

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Confirmed: Darden Restaurants, Fishery Products International, Whole Foods

•

Interested: Eastern Fish Company, Empress International, Lyons Seafood (UK), and many more Processors

•

30 expected first year Farms

•

80 expected first year Hatcheries

•

To be introduced in 2004 Feed Mills

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To be introduced in 2004

Annual Market Meetings

Global Shrimp Outlook

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Annually

•

Reduce price volatility

-

Minimize surpluses and shortages Accurate market information & intelligence

•

Objectives

-

Estimate supply from leading shrimp-producing countries

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Estimate demand from leading markets Model the effect of supply and demand on projected prices

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Evaluate obstacles to shrimp farming and undertake solutions

• • •

Market Environment and Implications to Asia and the Philippines

Stricter Standards Imposed by Markets Food safety, Traceability Environmental Responsibility

•

Mangrove – no clearings

•

Effluent Discharge - minimize and later close

-

Open (flow-through) to Closed (Recirculating) Social Responsibility - Sustainability

• •

Greater Competition Lower margins from more efficient production Higher production from more intensive and sustainable technologies

Production Issues and New Technologies

Rise in production = declining prices

•

Producers must stay competitive – continually reduce costs

•

Minimize economic loses from disease outbreaks – biosecurity and sanitation Efficient and Environmentally sustainable systems larger, consistent yields, faster & uniform growth

•

Modern animal husbandry

• • • • • •

Stricter control of sanitation Sophisticated disease diagnosis Selective breeding Water reuse Efficient feeds Improved control of wastes

Continuing Developments

Health and Disease Management

•

Improved diagnostic screening for infected animals

•

Improved knowledge of viral life cycles

-

Established control points such as filtration of carriers from incoming water

-

Sanitation to eliminate inadvertent transfer of disease Breeding

•

Selective breeding is the most effective long-term means to reduce production costs

-

Avoiding infected wild stocks

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Rapid growth Disease resistance New Pond Systems

•

High yields with “Little” or “No” water-exchange

-

Relies on aeration Water circulation Aerobic bacteria

• •

Highly Bio-secure Environment-Friendly

Minimal-discharge or Zero Water Exchange Systems

Future Trends

Technological Developments

•

Inland development

•

Use of otherwise unproductive (un-arable, barren) land

• • •

Greater mechanization Greater recycling of water Lower cost of postlarvae and feeds Consolidation of Industry

What is required?

Production – Paradigm shift

•

Phytoplankton dominated – Bacterial dominated

•

Manage and Feed the ecosystem, not only the animal

•

Good husbandry – no substitute Keep faith in P. Monodon, and indigenous species

•

Be patient as an industry

•

Work with government and other agencies to develop species

•

GAA Call for Responsible Aquaculture through Unity & Higher Standards

Codes of Practice – FAO, GAA, and others GAA adopted by the Philippines

•

Australia and Thailand has similar Unity among industry, academic sector and gov’t

•

Stakeholders from hatchery to processing

• •

Further and continually improve standards Collaborate on common concerns

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Research on Diseases, Breeding and Genetics, Production development Keep Philippine Aquaculture Congress and Exhibition going for years to come

•

Join the GAA as an umbrella organization

Conclusions

The GAA Responsible Aquaculture Program

• •

Used facts to correct misinformation

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Mangroves, Fishmeal, Effluents Codes of Practice, Quantitative Standards Incorporated Food Safety Standards

•

Salmonella contamination, Antibiotic residues

•

Includes FDA standards for Good Aquaculture Practices Aquaculture Certification Council

•

Independent body to conduct third party certification

•

Process certification, Oriented to buyers Global Shrimp Outlook

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Forum for suppliers and buyers Advocate Magazine

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Latest developments in production