Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue meeting in Chile
The World Wildlife Fund has recognized that 60 per cent of the salmon consumed globally comes from salmon farms, and that the demand for farmed salmon is increasing dramatically. The organization wants to explore options for ensuring that salmon is farmed in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.
The initiative by the World Wildlife Fund has received support from farmed salmon producers, retailers, scientists and environmental groups from around the world. There have been nine meetings already since the project started in 2004, and the next one is scheduled for December 11-13 in Santiago, Chile.
The Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue process is designed to produce a series of professional "State of Knowledge" reports about the various environmental and social issues associated with salmon farming. This is to be followed by the development of a set of global standards for the whole industry. The first report produced by this process is already available, and it addresses the issue of fish feed and the availability of raw materials for this feed. The Santiago meeting will discuss two new reports about chemical inputs and nutrient loading/carrying capacity.
