In an effort to gain a more complete understanding of how a fish farm operates, Dawn Purchase, Mariculture Officer at the Marine Conservation Society, spent a week working on a salmon farm in July. Loch Duart, who market themselves as the “sustainable salmon company”, based in Sutherland, hosted the week-long work experience.

Dawn Purchase said “I felt it was essential to spend some time actually working on a farm. I wanted to be part of the process to see for myself how production standards are implemented and put into practice. MCS plans to develop a directory of sustainable producers, so that consumers can identify those farmers striving towards greater sustainability, and this visit enabled me to see some encouraging examples of good practice.”

MCS believes that feed sustainability is one of the key issues of concern that the aquaculture industry needs to resolve urgently to achieve true sustainability. MCS would like to see a combination of measures such as: full utilisation of trimmings and offal in fish feed manufacture, supplemented by certified sustainable feed fisheries ensuring a supply where impact on the wider marine ecosystem is minimised; increased substitution of marine proteins with vegetable alternatives; and best practice in terms of feed wastage minimisation.

Nick Joy, Managing Director of Loch Duart said ”Dawn has been a valuable and valued guest. We expected that she would be involved in every part of the farm, and she has been. Both she and MCS have been involved with Loch Duart’s thinking for quite a few years. This year has not only provided the opportunity to act as host for MCS, but has also seen the development of the feed sustainability matrix with EWOS, to ensure Loch Duart’s feed is from the most sustainable supply available. We believe that this dialogue will lead to greater environmental and sustainable development for our company. By developing closer relationships with the Marine Conservation Society and other NGO’s we hope to improve understanding, develop new methods and find ways to keep our environment the way it is meant to be”.

Loch Duart farm to a number of standards, such as Freedom Foods, which ensures that stocking densities are restricted to 15 kg/m3 and fish health and welfare is of a high standard, and Label Rouge, the French quality standard. They also participate in the industry Code of Good Practice for Scottish Aquaculture. In addition, they are also independently tackling the issue of feed sustainability by demanding bespoke feeds, tailored with the sustainability of ingredients in mind. Loch Duart also employs a year long fallowing system, which not only allows the seabed under the salmon cages a longer time to recover and regenerate, it also helps break the sea lice cycle. They have a policy of not using antifoulants on their nets, which ensures that chemicals do not leach into the water column, instead nets are either removed from the water and sun dried or cleaned with high pressure water.

Dawn Purchase continues, “Loch Duart prove that progress can be made towards achieving greater sustainability and environmental stewardship. Issues of pollution and feed sustainability are key concerns for MCS and MCS welcomes the efforts made by Loch Duart to tackle these and would like to see others within the industry follow suit”.  

Dawn is inviting other fish farms to host a similar “work experience week”.

More at: http://www.mcsuk.org

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Julian

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