Atlantic halibut

The GLOBALG.A.P. feed standard requires the majority of feed ingredients to be responsibly sourced. However, Atlantic halibut has a large dependency on wild fish in its diet.All farmed halibut rely on formulated feeds and theuse of commercial aquafeed is the norm in Norway.The GLOBALG.A.P. standard requires ingredients used in feeds to be traceable. For marine ingredients (fishmeal and fish oil), a minimum of 60% should come from responsibly managed fisheries. This may be verified by GSSI or MarinTrust. This will be raised to 75% by January 2025.There are also requirements in place for vegetable ingredients. There is a 75% requirement for soy to come from FEFAC sources, which are traceable to countries that are deforestation free.Atlantic halibut is a net consumer of protein, and therefore more wild fish protein is needed in the feed, than the amount of protein produced.Under the GLOBALG.A.P. certification, compound feed manufacturers are encouraged to proactively assess the possible use of novel feed ingredients.

Halibut farming in marine pens can have negative environmental impacts, however, these impacts are reduced by the GLOBALG.A.P. standard.The GLOBALG.A.P. Aquaculture Standard has criteria in place for production practices that address many environmental impacts. This includes ensuring that depletion or degradation of freshwater supplies is mitigated, discharge of effluents is limited, and any habitat alteration that has taken place is small scale. Juveniles used must be hatchery based.Chemicals may be used in production, but their usage is limited by GLOBALG.A.P. standard criteria. There is a veterinary health plan in place which monitors the chemical impacts on the surrounding environment and has specific criteria on when antibiotics can be used.Both disease and parasites may be present in halibut farms but there is no indication that regional level impacts are caused and given the small scale nature of the industry, this is not thought to have any impact on wild populations.Escapes are do happen in open net pen farming. However, criteria outlined in the GLOBALG.A.P. standard require maintenance records, records of actions taken to correct equipment and are required to have an effective documented procedure for preventing escapes.Lethal control of predators is permitted, but it is unknown if this takes place.

GLOBALG.A.P. has criteria in place to ensure animal welfare and humane slaughter. The GLOBALG.A.P. Aquaculture standard outlines practices that are in place to ensure animal welfare and humane slaughter. This includes a risk assessment for animal welfare. Humane slaughter practices are also in place.

Norway has a comprehensive range of regulations in place for the aquaculture industry, including a Marine Spatial Planning Programme.The Aquaculture Act 2005 covers a wide range of environmental performance indicators. Despite the lack of publicly available information specifically relating to the Atlantic halibut sector it would appear that this small scale industry is well managed.The GLOBALG.A.P. certification criteria covers Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the identification and protection of valuable habitats and species, use of land and water resources, use of chemicals, discharges, biosecurity, disease management and species introduction. These criteria are thought to be fully effective in minimizing environmental impacts.The GLOBALG.A.P. Aquaculture Standard incorporates aspects stipulated by the FAO Technical Guidelines on Aquaculture certification and the OIE Aquatic Animal Health Code. It is recognized both by the GFSI for food safety and GSSI at primary production level, covering key sustainability aspects for animal production for human consumption. The score for this section reflects GLOBALG.A.P. certified producers that are in full compliance with the standard.