Click here for the CGSB Organics Release, August 31, 2010.
VANCOUVER, BC – Over 40 organizations from across Canada and the U.S. submitted a joint letter opposing the Canada General Standards Board (CGSB) proposed organic standards that allow antibiotic and chemical treatments of farmed fish. The signatories reflect a broad cross section of the scientific, conservation, consumer, and organic communities, and represent a collective membership of over one million people.
The joint letter outlines concerns that the draft standard is contrary to the basic principles of organics as it would allow certification of net pen farmed salmon – a practice that has been shown through published scientific research to negatively impact wild salmon and marine ecosystems. The proposed standards cover seaweed, shellfish, closed containment and net pens. However, the weakest sections of the standards relate to the production of fish, which grant organic certification to net pens with minimal changes to current, conventional practices. The use of antibiotics and chemical sea lice treatments are allowed in the standards and key environmental impacts of net pens are unaddressed.
