King prawn

The GLOBALG.A.P. feed standard requires the majority of feed ingredients to be responsibly sourced.There are different methods of farming prawns. In intensive and semi-intensive systems, additional feed inputs are used. The GLOBALG.A.P. feed standard ensures that the protein and oil component of the feed used is known and traceable to species level.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.The dependency of wild caught fish used in fishmeal and fish oil (known as the Feed Fish Dependency Ratio) for this species currently indicates that more fish protein is required in the diet then these prawns produce, making them a net consumer of fish rather than a fish producer.Under the GLOBALG.A.P. certification, compound feed manufacturers are encouraged to proactively assess the possible use of novel feed ingredients.

The GLOBALG.A.P. Aquaculture standard mitigates many areas of environmental concern in prawn farming, but there are still improvements that could be made. 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, such as the destruction of mangroves, happened after 2008, with verifiable restoration taking place since. Juveniles used are also hatchery based, with the exception of some extensive systems.Prawn farms rely on chemical usage and antibiotics are widely used. Within the GLOBALG.A.P. Aquaculture Standard, 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.There are other potential environmental issues with prawn farming that the GLOBALG.A.P. Aquaculture standard addresses that are on a lower scale of ecological concern in prawn farming. This includes disease outbreak and parasite interactions, which may occur but are thought to be at a farm level and do not threaten regional level operations. It also includes the risk of escapes, which have not been found to have established in the wild.However, problems do still exist with prawn farming. Although GLOBALG.A.P. addresses many areas of concern, there are still improvements we would like to see made. This includes the use of lethal control of predators, which is still allowed to take 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.

GLOBALG.A.P. farmed prawns are well managed and management is thought to be fully effective.This assessment covers all prawns farmed by GLOBALG.A.P. Aquaculture standard globally. Although the Standard does cover some aspects of strategic environmental planning, auditors must necessarily defer to an array of national and regional regulations, depending on the varying locations of certification-seeking producers.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.