Colorado State University Extension
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ORGANIC FISH CONTROVERSY CONTINUES
By: Christina Ahlstrom, CSU Animal Sciences Student
The organic food and beverage industry is booming and has grown in the U.S. from a $1 billion industry in 1990 to a $20 billion industry in 2007. It is no surprise that both producer and consumer demand has put pressure on the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to expand this growing market to include fish. Currently, seafood is the only major group of food products for which there are no organic standards.
In November 2008, the National Organic Standards Board proposed organic standards for farmed fish. One might think organic fish means wild caught but this is not the case. There is no way to observe or control the diet and environment of fish caught in open waters, so it cannot be labeled with the USDA organic logo.
Many consumers and advocacy groups have shown strong opposition to these proposed standards. Among the concerns is that up to 25% of the feed for "organic fish" can come from non-organic sources. This includes fishmeal and oils made from wild fish, as long as the wild fish are not prohibited forage species which may be contaminated with mercury and PCBs. Advocacy groups feel that allowing 25% nonorganic feed is misleading as all other certified organic livestock must be raised on 100 percent organic feed. There is concern that this inconsistency may damage consumer confidence in the organic label as a whole.
The problem is that organically farmed fish have nutritional fishmeal requirements for which acceptable organic alternatives are not currently available. The proposed standards do decrease the allowable proportion of wild fishmeal that may be fed to organically farmed fish over the next several years. It is anticipated that as the organic seafood industry grows, organic feed substitutes will be developed and become more accessible.
Additional concerns are raised when fish are farmed in open-net pens in large bodies of water. Waste, pathogens, and parasites can be released into the surrounding environment, threatening the wild fish population. Opponents to the proposed standards think organic fish farms in open water should be required to recover waste to prevent exposing the wild populations to such pollutants. Inland fish ponds, on the other hand, are contained and do not encounter the same problems.
Some consumers oppose the farming of all carnivorous finfish, such as salmon. The alteration of the diet to include plant-based foods fails to accommodate the natural diet of the fish. As a result, artificial colorants are added to the feed of farm raised salmon to give the flesh the pink pigment found in wild salmon. Wild salmon absorb carotenoids through the krill and shellfish they consume, thus giving them the characteristic pink color. Additionally, critics claim the living conditions are inconsistent with the natural environment and infringe on the innate behavior of the animal.
It is now in the hands of the USDA to approve or modify the proposed standards. Even without opposition, it is a long process so it may be years before consumers are able to find USDA-certified organic fish in their markets.
Sources:
- Eilperin, Juliet, and Jane Black. "USDA Panel Approves First Rules For Labeling Farmed Fish 'Organic,'" Washington Post, Nov. 20, 2008. Available at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/19/AR2008111903787.html
- "Proposed Rules for Organic Fish Run Fast and Loose With USDA Standards," Environmental Nutrition, 32(2009): 7-7.
- Duchene, Lisa. "Organic rules advance," Seafood Business Magazine, Feb. 10, 2009. Available at: http://www.seafoodbusiness.com/index.asp?ItemID=3977&rcid=268&pcid=267&cid=268
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