The World Wildlife Fund's Mollusk Aquaculture Dialogues will continue this winter and spring to develop standards for certifying mollusks farmed in North America.
Participating mollusk-aquaculture stakeholders will create standards to minimize or eliminate negative environmental effects of mollusk farming.
The process of identifying criteria and indicators began last week in North Carolina and will continue Feb. 11 in Orlando, Fla., and April 8 in Providence, R.I. Meetings will be held later in the year to draft and finalize measurable, performance-based standards.
''We are confident that the diverse set of stakeholders participating in our transparent, consensus-oriented dialogue meeting will develop standards that simultaneously protect the environment and ensure mollusk farming is economically viable,'' said Jose Villalon, WWF-U.S. Aquaculture Program director, in a prepared statement.
The standards will encompass clam, oyster, mussel and scallop cultivation. Other dialogues are underway to establish standards for shrimp, pangasius, salmon and tilapia.
Standards for other regions of the world will be created through additional meetings. The WWF's ultimate goal is to establish one set of standards for the global mollusk industry.
