Atlantic salmon

Salmo salar

2: Best Choice How we work out the ratings

What to check for

Location

All areas, Scotland

Production method

Open net pen, marine

Certification

Organic

Rating summary

Atlantic salmon are farmed in open net pens in the sea. Producing fish in open systems can cause environmental impacts. Organic Certification Standards set comprehensive standards to help mitigate environmental concerns, including discharge of effluents, limited use of chemicals, escapes, disease and parasite interactions. Feed must be preferentially produced from off-cuts and by-products of human consumption fisheries which ensures that organic farmed salmon are a net producer of fish protein. All terrestrial feed ingredients must be organically certified which ensures their responsible sourcing.This rating is based on full compliance with certification requirements. Commercial buyers should therefore ensure that full compliance has been achieved in order for this rating to be applicable.Rating last updated January 2023.

Technical consultation summary

How we worked out this Rating

Organic certification standards require feed ingredients to be traceable, responsibly sourced and sustainable.Atlantic salmon are a carnivorous species and have a requirement for a high protein diet. Historically, the most important ingredients in salmon feed have been fishmeal and fish oil, now vegetable matter makes up the majority of the feed formula. Organic certification standards require feed ingredients to be traceable, responsibly sourced and sustainable. Marine by-products within the feed provide fishmeal and fish oil content, vegetable ingredients are organically and responsibly sourced.Under the standards of organic certification, the dependency of wild caught fish used in fish meal and fish oil (known as the Feed Fish Dependency Ratio) for organic farmed salmon is currently zero, as the hierarchy for feed provision promotes 100% of the feed to comprise of aquaculture produce or marine by-products and trimmings.

Organic salmon farming in open water net pens can have similar impacts on the environment, where compared with non-organic production. However, mitigation measures are in place within organic certification standards to address many of those environmental impacts.Habitat alteration is small scale with the application of open water net pens and does not impact ecosystem functionality. Juveniles used in organic salmon aquaculture come from hatcheries, however, wild caught cleaner fish are used to biologically control sea lice. Lumpfish and wrasse are used as cleaner fish but the stock status for both species is unknown, and currently fishery management measures are primarily voluntary. Therefore, the impact on the stocks of these species is unknown.Organic salmon farms avoid chemical usage. Although, farms do use medicines and products containing chemicals such as disinfectants, under limitation to ensure the health and welfare of the fish, and to maintain farm infrastructure, and equipment (e.g., pens and boats). Specifications for organic certification ensures chemical and medical treatments are avoided unless natural and homeopathic treatments have been exhausted and application is necessary. Chemicals and medical treatments are monitored and limited to organic standards.Biosecurity measures set out in organic certification standards limit disease outbreaks and escapes. Nonetheless, parasitic and pathogenic burdens in farmed organic salmon do occur, but best husbandry practises lessen these burdens. Salmon farms are known to increase the number of salmon sea lice parasites in the surrounding environment which can impact on wild populations. Pathogenic disease outbreaks also occur but they are not thought to threaten regional level operations. Due to the nature of open net pens there is a risk of farmed salmon escaping with evidence of negative ecological effects on local wild populations, such as genetic introgression.The grey and common seal are the main documented predators of farmed salmon. Under organic certification standards non-lethal predator deterrents are preferential, however lethal control is permitted under these standards in line with EU regulations. Lethal control of seals on aquaculture farms has been documented in some countries, although lethal measures have not significantly affected either one of the predatory species population status.

Organic certification standards ensure that practices and guidelines are in place to address the welfare needs and humane slaughter of animals within organic aquaculture.Health and welfare standards are referenced throughout the standards. Specific requirements address health and welfare of aquaculture animals, and humane slaughter, where techniques must render fish immediately unconscious and insensible to pain.

Organic farmed salmon are well managed and management is thought to be mostly effective.Independent organic certifications address many of the issues of environmental concern and ensure compliance. There is no requirement for organic certified farms to be subject to any strategic environmental planning.  However, organic farmed salmon production countries supplying the UK marketplace incorporate strategic environmental planning at a country level.Aquaculture policy in the UK is a devolved matter, with the separate administrations of Wales, England, Northern Ireland and Scotland responsible for its collective oversight. Aquaculture production in Scotland is covered in the 2015 National Marine Plan. This plan covers the management of both Scottish inshore waters (out to 12 nautical miles) and offshore waters (12 to 200 nautical miles). Scotland’s River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) also sets out a range of actions to address water quality, physical condition, water flows and levels, the migration of wild fish and invasive non-native species. The RBMP is produced every six years by SEPA on behalf of the Scottish Government.As an EU Member State, aquaculture production in Ireland is directed by the MSP Directive 2014/89/EU2 establishing a framework for maritime spatial planning. Aquaculture production in Ireland is covered in the 2021 National Marine Planning Framework (NMPF) for more sustainable, effective management of marine activities, to promote efficient use of marine resources. The Co-ordinated Local Aquaculture Management Systems (C.L.A.M.S.) is a nationwide initiative, managing the development of aquaculture in bays and inshore waters throughout Ireland at a local level, this includes Integrated Coastal Zone Management (I.C.Z.M.) plans.Organic certification standards address the environmental impacts of aquaculture, which is further supported and/or addressed independently by country level regulations. The organic standards refer to EU Directives such as the Habitats Directive, which form the cornerstones of the EU’s nature conservation policy and the protection of valuable habitats and species.

References

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