Fork to farm

The aim of the project is to provide support to the Dutch fish culture sector, which is going through a difficult period. Competition from abroad, rapidly increasing prices of raw materials (feed, energy) and falling prices for the final product are compelling Dutch fish growers to improve their competitive position. In recent years, the number of fish growers has fallen. The question is: how can the tide can be turned and how can the conditions be improved for new entrepreneurs to get started and for experienced entrepreneurs to continue to grow?

The entrepreneurs are very interested. World-wide, aquaculture has been the fastest-growing branch of food production for a number of years, and in European policy the development of sustainable fisheries and aquaculture is one of the priority areas. Technically, the Netherlands appears to have the possibility to do well in terms of sustainability, specifically due to the unique fish culture technologies used in recirculation systems. This development initially began in response to our climate. The excessive temperature fluctuations in our surface waters, combined with the needs of fish species such as eels and catfish for consistently warm temperatures, were the most important reasons that fish culture began in insulated buildings approximately 30 years ago. Today, the positive aspects of recirculation culture are acknowledged world-wide, and a shift is taking place in various sectors. In principle, recirculation culture as possible everywhere. Theoretically, you could produce fish immediately adjacent to the sales location (absolutely fresh), which is also logistically easier and avoids transport costs. In other words, there are many positive aspects to support the sale of fish produced from recirculation systems. Nevertheless, in practice the link with the market and the sale of the final product has been an important stumbling block, because for the time being price and quality are the primary determining factors for the fish trade. This is an important reason why the environmental certification label for cultured fish that was developed several years has not taken off. Until recently, the market was simply not ready for sustainably cultured fish. But societal pressure, especially from supermarket organisations and  NGOs such as environmental and nature conservation organisations, has resulted in an important shift. In the fishery sector, where the situation was apparently much more serious, MSC certification is now an important marketing tool, and is increasingly influencing the market and price formation.
 
For cultured fish, sustainability certification is still in the starting blocks. Driven by the supermarket chains, various large production chains world-wide are now giving shape to the certification. In the Netherlands, the CBL represents the retail sector. In 2007 “sustainable fish” became an important priority for the CBL. The result has been the seven-step plan “Vis Beter” (Fish Better), where the Dutch retail sector chooses GlobalGAP (and perhaps even more) as a quality assurance system for cultured fish. GlobalGap is one of the sustainability initiatives that establishes production conditions focusing on food safety and hygiene (the scope includes sustainability). The details for this standard are being worked out per fish species, and have already been implemented world-wide for salmon, trout and shrimp. Since April of this year, the standards for the production of pangasius and tilapia have also become operational. There is special attention for environmental aspects and animal welfare, with a focus on humane killing of cultured fish.

In the near future suppliers to the retail sector will be required to have a “license to produce”. “Fork to Farm” has the aim of guiding sustainable production from fork to farm for African catfish and for a new cultured species: Yellowtail Kingfish.

Efforts will be focused, among other things, on supporting the discussions concerning the new sustainability labels and developing a tool to assure sustainable RAS production. The result of this project is a practical handbook which shows how sustainable fish production in the Netherlands is possible. The project will be truly successful when the Dutch sector is ultimately able to distinguish itself in the market and can improve its competitive position. 

Fork to Farm has now completed its first year. The handbook is expected to be finished in 2009. Since July, yellowtails have been swimming around in the culture tanks at Yerseke, where the first experiments will begin this autumn.