The Global Salmon Initiative (GSI), a coalition of the world’s leading farmed salmon producers, on Thursday released its first-ever progress report, which recaps the first year of the group’s collaborative activities toward improved practices on the water.
GSI, launched in August 2013, comprises 18 companies representing 70 percent of the global farmed salmon industry. The report was released at the Aquasur conference in Chile.
“The past year has taught us that the barriers we face are real and complex issues, and there are no easy fixes,” said Jon Hindar, GSI co-chair and CEO of Cermaq. “However, we are committed to investing the resources needed to make GSI and its vision a part of our core mission for the long term.”
Member companies include AquaChile, Bakkafrost, Grieg, Fjardalax, Leroy Seafood Group, Marine Harvest and others. The group’s key areas of focus include bio-security, sourcing sustainable feed, achieving Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification, transparency in reporting and communications and building partnerships with industry, NGOs like World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and investors like Rabobank.
Information and knowledge sharing, particularly through three bio-security workshops over the past year, has helped GSI member companies achieve lower sea lice levels. Chile is reviewing the potential of “cleaner fish” in tackling sea lice infestations.
“The very nature of our business, and the fact that we operate in the same waters, means that this model will only be successful if we are all working with the same vision,” said Ricardo Garcia, GSI co-chair and CEO of Camanchaca.
All GSI member companies are committed to achieving ASC certification by 2020; as of September, 13 GSI-member farms in Norway and Chile have achieved certification. GSI is rolling out a training program to support other farms in reaching the ASC standard.
Regarding transparency in reporting and communications, GSI is focusing its efforts in the following areas: feed and raw materials, number of escapes per year, disease and parasite transfer, local environmental impact, chemical inputs and social impacts.
“GSI is a unique example of an industry recognizing its problems and working together to take responsibility,” said Jason Clay of WWF. “By agreeing to work pre-competitively to mitigate environmental impacts, GSI will help push the entire industry toward sustainability at a much quicker rate than would otherwise be possible.”
