Comment – Sustainability
BY DR MARTIN JAFFA A shade too green
The recent departure of four Norwegian and Scottish salmon farmers from the Global Salmon Initiative raises questions about its relevance
O
ne of the latest comments on Twitt er from the Global Salmon Initi ati ve (GSI) posed the questi on: ‘Did you know more than 100 million people depend on aquaculture
for their livelihoods?’ I had to blink twice when I read this fi gure, for while I am a passionate advocate of aquaculture, I cannot believe the industry has grown so much to encompass the livelihoods of so many people. The esti mate of 100 million dependent on
aquaculture comes from a scienti fi c paper which looked at how the infl uence of aquaculture is calculated. The paper has since been cited a number of ti mes, each of which has increased the credence of the actual fi gure. In industries like salmon farming, such fi gures
usually refer to the number of jobs created and it could be implied that this is to what the 100 million refers, but it is not. The fi gure is those dependent on aquaculture for their livelihood and includes not just the farmers and their workers, but also their families, those involved in processing, distributi on and even retailing. It is therefore not surprising the fi gure is so large. The UN Food and Agricultural Organisati on
(FAO) record that the number of people actually working in aquaculture is a more realisti c 19 million, but it is important to point out that well over 90 per cent of these workers are farming fi sh in Asia, many of whom are scratching a living from subsistence farming of warm water pond fi sh such as carp. This is a far cry from the modern salmon
industry that GSI represents. The number of jobs that salmon farming creates is a ti ny fracti on of those employed in aquaculture worldwide. Salmon farming is a very diff erent propositi on
to much of the wider aquaculture industry. It does not seem that those who speak for the GSI understand the diff erence. The GSI is not as forthcoming and transparent
about itself as it is with the data it wishes to share. Although the chief executi ves of two of the member companies are co-chairmen,
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the organisati on does not appear to have any management, or at least be willing to share any informati on about its management. I have now discovered it has a ‘convenor’, a Canadian named Avrim Lazar. He appears to specialise in sustainability issues. Although he has worked in a variety of sectors he has devoted much of his ti me to the forestry industry. The appointment of a sustainability specialist simply refl ects the route
tr “GSI is ying to
drive an issue that is low on the consumer agenda
”
down which GSI is being guided by the environmental sector. However, with this focus on sustainability I suspect that the GSI has a limited shelf life. This is because salmon farming is inherently sustainable and hence doesn’t need to be moulded to the preconcepti ons of others, especially those that may be completely unrealisti c. It seems that I am not alone in this view. Four companies have left GSI
[Scotti sh Sea Farms, Scotti sh Salmon Company and their Norwegian based parent companies Leroy Seafood Group and SalMar], with industry sources citi ng unrealisti c targets. For example, GSI said all farms should be accredited by the ASC by 2020 but this may not be feasible for many existi ng sites. The reality is that millions upon millions of salmon meals are already
eaten by willing consumers every year and it is only recently that any, and that is the smallest drop, has been labelled as ASC certi fi ed. Consumers don’t need salmon to be labelled as sustainable for them to buy it. This is because sustainability is simply not an issue for most consumers. The environmental sector is trying to force sustainability on the public whether they want it or not. GSI will struggle simply because it is trying to drive an issue that is low
on the consumer agenda. Consumers have more pressing concerns than worrying about whether the salmon they eat is sustainable or not. They leave such matt ers for others in the food supply chain to decide. Of course, GSI is not just about forcing the introducti on of ASC
certi fi cati on. It is also supposed to be a forum for the exchange of ideas to help solve some of the wider issues aff ecti ng the industry. The trouble is that concerns such as sea lice are already being tackled
across the whole industry. Soluti ons to these concerns will be sought regardless of whether they are discussed within GSI or not. Perhaps rather than create another forum for discussion, GSI might be
bett er directi ng their att enti on towards those eff orts that are already underway, as might be those from the environmental sector who wish to help minimise the already low level of impact of salmon farming on the environment. If GSI removed the sustainability blinkers, it might bett er see the wood for the trees. Dr Marti n Jaff a is the founder of marketi ng company Callander McDowell and has been involved in the aquaculture industry for more than 40 years. A version of this arti cle fi rst appeared in his weekly blog, reLAKSati on at
www.callandermcdowell.co.uk FF
www.fishfarmer-magazine.com
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