Vote on US standards for organic aquaculture
USA: The 15 member National Organics Standards Board (NOSB), which is a commission of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is expected to vote on proposed standards for organic fish next week in Washington DC.
NOSB committees will present a list of recommendations to the full board for a vote, including recommendations on standards for organic aquaculture, including the use of fish meal and oil as feed, open cage net pens and the management of bivalves.
Though the USDA has been quite successful in outlining organic standards for everything from fruit juices to breakfast cereals to eggs, the department has not found the development of similar standards for fish and seafood as easy.
Fish farmers have long been ready to apply some form of a "seal of approval" in terms of organic standards. The upcoming NOSB vote is not unexpectedly causing great concern from environmental groups feel that the proposal being voted on may undermine what has been achieved so far. One of these groups is the Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports.
A website set up for public comments to the proposals being discussed and voted on at the upcoming meeting has tens and tens of comments related to the standards for organic aquaculture.
