The Freshwater Trout Aquaculture Dialogue is just one step away from finalizing its farmed trout standards, announcing on Thursday that the final draft of the standards has been released.
Once the standards are finalized, they will be handed over to the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) to manage. Over the next few months, a guidance manual for auditing trout farms will be completed.
The development of the standards, which address the key environmental and social impacts associated with trout farming, kicked off in 2008 and has involved two public comment periods and more than 300 farmers, conservationists, government officials, researchers and other stakeholders. The process was overseen by the dialogue’s eight-person steering committee.
“We are excited that this process is nearing an end and trout farms can soon begin to be certified,” said Jose Villalon, managing director of the aquaculture program for World Wildlife Fund-US and a member of the steering committee.
This will be the fifth set of standards finalized by the WWF-coordinated Aquaculture Dialogues. Standards for tilapia, pangasius, bivalves and abalone were completed in 2009 and 2010. Standards for salmon, shrimp, and seriola/cobia are scheduled for release this year.
