Update: May 20, 2011
Salmon Aquaculture Dialogues release final draft of standards
The public is invited to provide comment on the final draft of these standards, developed through the World Wildlife Federation and Salmon Aquaculture Dialogues. The standards, along with the comment form can be found here. Deadline for submissions is June 14, 2011.
BCSFA Executive Director Mary Ellen Walling represents the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance on the steering committee of this process.
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Update: Aug. 4, 2010
Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue Releases Draft Standards:
The BC Salmon Farmers Association is pleased to see draft certification standards for salmon aquaculture around the world released for public comment.
To read the full BCSFA Press Release, click here.
To read the Dialogue Steering Committee's announcement about the release of the draft standards, click here.
To learn more about the Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue and to provide feedback, click here.
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The Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue was initiated by the World Wildlife Fund in 2004 with the goal of developing measurable, performance-based standards that minimize or eliminate seven key environmental and social impacts of salmon farming. To gain a better understanding of how to address the impacts, the Dialogue Steering Committee created geographically diverse and balanced technical working groups to research each impact in more detail. Members of the dialogue were actively involved in choosing experts and developing a scope of work for each group.
The goals of the Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue are to:
- Develop and implement verifiable environmental and social performance levels that measurably reduce or eliminate the key impacts of salmon farming and are acceptable to stakeholders
- Recommend standards that achieve these performance levels while permitting the salmon farming industry to remain economically viable
The Dialogue ensures open and transparent dissemination of information between the stakeholders participating.
Each technical working group is responsible for producing a "State of Information Report" that reviews the status of existing research related to the impact, identifies gaps or areas of disagreement in the research, and suggests a process for addressing the gaps.
Click here to read the report about benthic impacts
Click here to read the report about escapes
Click here to read the report about feed
Click here to read the report about nutrient loading/carrying capacity
Click here to read the report about chemical inputs
Click here to go to Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue homepage
The Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue welcomes input and comments on any or all of these reports. To view all of the reports and submit input click here.
These reports address global aquaculture issues. BCSFA participates in the Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue through its board membership in Salmon of the Americas.
June 27, 2008 - Dialogue Update
Jose Villalon, Director of the WWF-US Aquaculture Program, presented information on the dialogues at Capitol Hill Oceans Week.
Click here to view his presentation
July 2008 WWF Aquaculture Dialogues E-Newsletter Excerpts-
Technical working groups will be formed to draft indicators and standards for salmon feed and to research the social impacts of salmon farming. Read about these and other outcomes of the latest Salmon Dialogue Steering Committee meeting.
For more information about and to provide input on how the standards are created read the process guidance document for the Dialogues and the salmon-specific process document.
January 27, 2009 - WWF Plans Next Phase for Sustainable Standards
WWF announced that it would co-found the Aquaculture Stewardship Council and that this body will eventually take possession of the global standards for responsible seafood farming which are currently being developed by the WWF-supported Aquaculture Dialogue roundtables.
