The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) has come out in favor of what it calls a landmark aquaculture improvement project (AIP) in Hainan, China, which takes a zonal approach to aquaculture and is maintained by industry stakeholders.
According to a new SFP public report, the project takes a holistic view of aquaculture and thus aims to ensure a shared, common waterway space that minimally impacts the environment and maintains an air of healthy competition. Alongside the Chinese companies involved in the project, the U.S.-based buyer The Fishin’ Co. is also partaking in the AIP.
“This AIP is the best example of a zonal AIP in the world and also one that has strongly transitioned from SFP to industry-led, with support of a local NGO (China Blue), an international buyer (Fishin’ Co.) and many key local industry leaders,” said Anton Immink, SFP’s aquaculture director.
The project has helped China set an industry leading standard for tilapia farming, noted SFP: “These ground-breaking standards include a strong focus on improved disease management, both on-farm and between neighbors.”
The first successful aquaculture policy roundtable hosted by SFP occurred a year after the project began, back in 2011. Attendees of the roundtable – which included processors, farmers and seed and feed producers – helped to establish the Hainan Tilapia Sustainability Alliance. In 2015, the Alliance issued the first version of its Code of Good Practices (CoGP) for Hainan Tilapia Farming, with technical assistance from the Hainan Tilapia Sustainability Alliance. As of now, 35 pilot farms employ the code.
“Han Han, the CEO of the new China Blue and former SFP staffer, has taken lessons from the Scottish salmon industry and other leaders to help steer the industry on a course towards true sustainability” Immink concluded.
