FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, October 18, 2006

On Efforts by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to Certify Farmed Fish as Organic

 

Statement by Andrea Kavanagh, Director, Pure Salmon Campaign

 

Washington, D.C. Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Organic Standards Board is meeting to recommend aquaculture organic standards for farm-raised fish. The Pure Salmon Campaign submitted comments opposing this recommendation.

 

"Any standards that would label farm-raised fish from open-ocean pens as 'organic' would contradict the true definition of the word. It's just not possible when salmon farmers use non-organic wild fish for feed. Not to mention, fish farming in these pens does nothing to improve the genetic and biological diversity of the surrounding environment. In fact, in many cases, open-ocean fish farms actually make matters worse.

 

"We can't allow the Organic Standards Board to modify or dilute its 'USDA Organic' label to accommodate salmon raised in open net cages. We need to hold the board's feet to the fire. The organic label will only remain credible if today's high standards directly apply to aquaculture products.

 

"A recent poll found that almost 70 percent of respondents would reduce their trust in the 'USDA Organic' label if 'organic' farmed fish contained contaminants such as PCB's and were farmed in a way that harms marine wildlife. This attitude was significantly higher among females than males."

 

The Pure Salmon Campaign is a global project of the National Environmental Trust. It has partners in the United States, Canada, the European Union and Chile all working to improve the way salmon is produced.

 

CONTACT:
Dave Bard
202-778-4551
dbard@net.org