A Majority of the Votes Cast are Affirmative
The members of the Committee on Organic Aquaculture have adopted by a majority the latest draft of the Aquaculture Organic Standards. The Chair and working group chairs have reviewed the negative comments and circulated resolutions and actions to resolve the remaining negative votes; the members of the Committee have to respond by January 3rd, 2012 to the proposed actions.
If the Committee agrees with the proposed actions, the standard will advance for a second level review and a review by the Standards Council of Canada. The second level review by the CGSB Panel on Process Assurance entails a procedural review of all actions related to the approval of the standard, ensuring that relevant CGSB and Standards Council of Canada policies and 2 procedures have been adhered to. Following these approvals, the standard shall be published, hopefully in the spring of 2012. The countdown has begun...
Being a member of the Committee on Organic Aquaculture, The Organic Federation of Canada strongly recommends that when the new aquaculture standard is balloted and becomes active, it should be accompanied by a public relations and communication strategy to explain the standard and to illustrate the reasoning behind some of the more contentious clauses, thus preventing the spread of misinformation which creates a public perception of distrust. The issue of the ecological impact of salmon farming and the low availability of organic feed for organically farmed fish are not fully resolved and the reputation of the Canadian organic industry is of primary importance.
