Organic and Ecolabel Standards for Aquaculture Completed
16 Nov 09

The Ministry of Fisheries Wealth's Aquaculture Centre has recently completed construction of national guidelines for the production of ecofriendly and organic aquacultured products. A manual of compliance will be published in the near future and will be posted on the RAIS and Aquaculture Centre's web pages as a PDF. The manual will be released as a means of providing Omani and other regional aquaculture producers with an introduction to the concepts of organic and eco-labelling. When aquatic plants and animals are farmed in compliance with the Ministry of Fisheries Wealth’s Environmental Best Management Practice (eBMP) guidelines, producers will be able to apply for ecolabel certification. Approved facilities will be authorized to use the Ministry’s official ecolabel marque on its products for marketing purposes. Endorsement of farms will only be made following authentication that farmed products have been produced using the key elements outlined in the Ministry’s eBMP manual. The ecolabel will signify to consumers that the produce has been farmed using environmentally sustainable methods. Moreover, in accord with the sustainability and eBMP concept, the label will warrant that certified products are nutritionally safe, wholesome and fully traceable.

 Many nations have struggled with developing standards for the organic certification of aquacultured organisms which has led to tardiness in the publication of national guidelines. The problems encountered in constructing organic certification guidelines has come about for a variety of reasons but consumer pressure groups, in particular, have been responsible for stalemating the process and delaying publication of regulations. This has been frustrating to the aspirations of well-meaning producers as well as to an educated consumer population who are genuine in seeking organic seafood in the marketplace. The short-circuiting of national certification bodies has led to many private organizations developing their own standards with the result that a wide variety of sometimes conflicting regulations are exist. In order to preclude future problems with regard to organic certification of Omani aquacultured produce, the Aquaculture Centre has developed national standards for the organic certification process in the Sultanate. A manual that outlines requirements to fulfil organic qualification of producers will be published as a PDF in the immediate future on the Aquaculture Centre's homepage.