SEA FISH INDUSTRY AUTHORITY

Transcription

1 SEA FISH INDUSTRY AUTHORITY Minutes of the Aquaculture Common Issues Group Meeting Held in London on 16 March 2010 Tom Rossiter James Wilson Ian Laing Paul Morris Craig Burton Tom Pickerell Mike Mitchell Ian Carr Mike Berthet Richard Slaski Andrew Jackson Jamie Smith Walter Speirs David Bassett Steven Bracken Daniel Lee Nigel Garbutt Piers Hart Ann Moffatt Zoe Hodgson Mark Greet Jim Landry Ian Pike Jeremy Langley Mandy Pyke Richard Prickett Tricia Jordan Apologies Nick Bradbury Niall Macdonald Doug Beveridge Blake Lee Horwood Stephen Cameron Peter Southgate Dawn Purchase Dr Robin Shields Ally Dingwall Stuart Smith Andrew Nicholson Quentin Clark Richard Luney Chairman Board Member Cefas Skretting Seafood Scotland Shellfish Association of Great Britain item 4 only The Seafood Company EWOS M & J Seaoods Federation of Scottish Aquaculture IFFO SSPO ASSG British Trout Association Marine Harvest GAA GLOBALGAP WWF Marine Scotland Defra item 3 only Falfish Lyons Seafood Consultant Waitrose Consultant to and Group Secretary minutes Biomar EWOS SFP SFP Scottish Shellfish Marketing Fish Vet Group MCS Swansea University Sainsbury s ASDA Co-operative Group Board Member Marks and Spencer 1

2 1. Welcome and Apologies Tom Rossiter deputising for Paul Williams welcomed the attendees and thanked them for coming. 2. Outstanding Actions from Previous Meeting The minutes were agreed as a correct record of the meeting, but a correction under the shellfish issues was requested. Reference was made to the statement that only 1.3% of waters in Scotland were classified Class A. Walter Speirs advised that this figure was incorrect, but was not sure exactly what the correct percentage was. 2.1 Terms of Reference Two amendments to the membership were noted. Scottish Salmon Growers Association should read Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation (SSPO) and add British Marine Finfish Association (BMFA). 2.2 Membership It was noted that the group are currently happy with the present membership of around 35, but this would be reviewed as required. Jim Landry requested that the membership be broken down into the different sectors and circulated. 2.3 Northern Ireland Representative It was reported that contact had been made with John Russell to be the Northern Ireland representative. 2.4 Consider Status Information on Menhaden Andrew Jackson advised that menhaden had been used in fishmeal in the United Kingdom and he suggested that this should be included in the stock status information. He also advised that due to the recent earthquake in Chile more menhaden may come to the United Kingdom to be used in fishmeal. 3. UK Aquaculture Group The Chairman asked Ann Moffat for a run down on how the UK Aquaculture Group would interact with the ACIG. The UK Aquaculture Group is a cross border government led forum dealing with policy and regulatory issues for aquaculture. There will be some areas of overlap and to avoid replication to liaise with Ann Moffat and circulate relevant information to group members. Walter Speirs also sits on both groups. The first meeting was held on 10 February this year and it was agreed the group would meet twice a year. The next meeting will be held in September/October in Brussels after which the meetings will rotate between London, Belfast and Cardiff. It was noted that Scotland have 80% of UK aquaculture production. Piers Reid-Hart suggested that a UK Aquaculture Group update should be added to the agenda for each meeting. This was carried. 2

3 advised that the minutes of the ACIG meetings, together with the presentations, would be put on the website in due course. 4. Shellfish from Class B Waters Tom Pickerell advised that the Shellfish Association of Great Britain (SAGB) had submitted a 3 year project for European Fisheries Funding (EFF) on Shellfish Industry Strategy which identifies the classification system in the United Kingdom. This has been turned down due to their being a few flaws. It was pointed out that there has been an increase in the number of Class B waters mainly due to the decrease of Class A waters. The SAGB position is that shellfish from Class B waters with depuration are of a similar low risk as shellfish from Class A waters. There was also a comment from another group member that shellfish from Class B waters with depuration have been accepted within organic standards. The Shellfish Classification Working Group are looking at finding a solution on how to get the message across to retailers and buyers that there are similar risks from both Class A and B waters. Jeremy Langley suggested there was a need to canvas all the retailers and buyers to establish what their current buying policy was and challenge appropriately. Action to canvas all major retailers to establish current buying policies and follow this up with an information paper addressing any misconceptions, issues or concerns. Tom Pickerell was looking for support from the group in the form of a letter to the effect that EFF are overlooking aquaculture at the present time. This was agreed. Action and SAGB to draft a letter and circulate to the group for approval. On a separate issue Mike Berthet reported that Food Standards Agency (FSA) were aware of a problem with norovirus in oysters, but did not alert wholesalers prior to St. Valentine s Day. Mike Berthet pointed out that the FSA had sent a letter to one of his customers on 12 February, but he was not made aware of this till 17 February. The outbreak was in Northern Ireland and on the east coast. It caused hotels and restaurants severe problems. He advised that his company have now moved all their requirements to Netherlands who test for norovirus. Tom Pickerell stressed that Class A, B or C waters have nothing to do with norovirus rather faecal colioforms. But agreed that norovirus was causing huge problems for the shellfish industry. Mandy Pyke advised that the issue facing industry was that an approved method of testing for norovirus for shellfish was required incorporating DNA matrix into the test procedure. The norovirus factsheet has been updated and would be circulated to the group and placed on the website in the next few days. Tom Pickerell advised that the next SAGB Mollusc Meeting was being held on 23 April and extended an invitation to Mike Berthet to attend the meeting. 3

4 Walter Speirs pointed out that the FSA were not represented on this group (ACIG) and Mandy Pyke reiterated that there was no representative from either the Environment Agency or UK Water body. Action A representative of FSA to be invited to future meetings. Ann Moffat stated that at the present time the National Aquaculture Forum had no plans to look into this matter, but advised there was potential for overlap between the two groups. Richard Slaksi advised that Joyce Carr of UKTAG would be a useful contact to progress this matter further. Mike Berthet requested that Tom Pickerell report back on this matter at the next meeting. Tom Pickerell advised that he had ed all his members in February regarding norovirus and he would forward the to Mike Berthet. However he voiced the need for some sort of official alert system. At this point Tom Pickerell and Zoe Hodgson left the meeting. 5. Update on Aquaculture Certification Four presentations were made on four different certification schemes and these are listed below: Responsible Aquaculture (Measurable Standards) Dr Piers Hart, WWF Global Harmonisation and Responsible Sourcing Nigel Garbutt, GLOBALGAP BAP Certification Daniel Lee, Global Aquaculture Alliance Global Standard for Responsible Supply - Andrew Jackson, IFFO Walter Speirs asked who benefits and who pays for aquaculture certification. Daniel Lee advised that certified producers could expect a small, but transient, price premium and that the main benefit to producers (the customers of certification) comes in the form of better market access. Piers Hart pointed out that the retailers pass on any cost to consumers. The Chairman expressed that it was critical to determine who pays, as the cost hits the producers. Mike Mitchell reported that it depended on sales and sector. Speaking as a food service provider there are broad correlations between a food provider and food retailers. A 3 rd party independent certification would incur further payment and producers may not be prepared to pay for accreditation. He pointed out his company are already audited by British Retail Consortium (BRC). Jeremy Langley pointed out that the whole area was extremely confusing with so many different bodies and the end product was a minimum set of standards. It was Waitrose s policy to accept 3 rd party certification as long as it met their requirements. Waitrose s decision was based on quality. Consumers trust the retailers and assume they have done all the work and have acted responsibly in sourcing products. Steve Bracken stated that there were various schemes which are evolving all the time. Richard Slaski asked for information on certification to be pulled together. 4

5 Walter Speirs advised that over the past 12 months companies have been looking at carbon footprint and ways of reducing costs. Richard Slaski stated that information can be obtained from The Carbon Trust on how business can reduce their carbon footprint. However, aquaculture was not in the rules. Jeremy Langley pointed out that if a new scheme were to be tabled, there was a need to know everything about it prior to circulation. Mike Berthet stressed that if a new scheme followed the FAO standard, there was a requirement for deeper auditing as cutting corners would not give carte blanche. Mandy Pyke suggested that an organisation such as could oversee such a scheme to make sure buyers comply with FAO technical guidance. Mike Berthet expressed the view that he was confident that could do such a process, but stressed that they had to be snap audits, rather than pre-arranged audits. Action - to monitor and update members regularly and for to engage with Seafood Choice Alliance to discuss available schemes, with the aim of producing a study comparing the different schemes. 6. Meeting the Recommended Intake of EPA and DHA from Farmed Salmon Ian Pike gave a presentation on the positives of salmon. A paper was also tabled at the meeting Sustainable Salmon Feed, Marine Ingredients. David Bassett pointed out that the Aquaculture factsheet did not contain any data on trout and requested to look into this matter further. 7. Feed Substitution recent research Ian Carr from EWOS gave a presentation on conversion rates from feed to salmon. Public perception is very strong and this was recognised as a complex issue to explain. The 5:1 Fish in:fish Out conversion ratio still remains in the public eye. The real issue is the exploitation of wild fish. Steve Bracken commented that it was entirely natural in the wild for salmon to eat other fish, and over the course of its life this wild salmon would probably eat more than a farmed salmon. James Wilson asked how do we get across the message on Omega-3 so that the public understand. Ian Carr advised that they were trying to get the correct message over on Omega-3. Action - together with the group facilitate an FAQ on aquaculture. 8. Any Other Business Ian Pike paper IP for copies. Aquaculture and Omega-3 guides were tabled and are now on the website. 5

6 Publications and minutes from meeting to be placed on Business to Business website. Link to be advised. The latest Aquaculture e-alert has been circulated to all members. The general consenus was that this service should continue. Next issue 1 April Any feedback to. to be sent to committee members when quarterly fish feed monitor has been placed on the website. Four more Responsible Sourcing Guides are to be produced on Atlantic Salmon, Warm Water Prawns, Pangarius and Tilapia. The existing 26 Responsible Sourcing Guides are to be updated together with the stock status information on the key feed fisheries used in the production of fishmeal and fish oil for the UK market. The annual fishmeal and fish oil fact and figures are also due to be updated. 1. UK Aquaculture Group Activity Agenda item for each meeting. to liaise with Ann Moffat and circulate information to group. 2. Group Membership Membership to be broken down into the different sectors and circulated to group. 3. EFF Letter The group to draft a letter re EFF to highlight the need for fair treatment of aquaculture applications, and that aquaculture is being overlooked at present. 4. Norovirus Issue Agenda item for next meeting. factsheet on norovirus to be updated, circulated to group and placed on website Copy of norovirus message to be ed to Mike Berthet 5. Class A and B waters to canvas all retailers and food service buyers to benchmark policies and identify the key concerns. By Whom Karen Green/Ann Moffat /Group Tom Pickerell Tom Pickerell 6. Accreditation Schemes Produce a guidance document specifically targeting the problems. Presentations to be added to the B2B site. To monitor and update members regularly and engage with Seafood Choices Alliance to construct a matrix of the available schemes. Report/study to be presented to group at a later date. 6

7 Activity By Whom 7. EHA and DHA Presentation to be added to website. 8. Feed substitution Presentation to be added to website. paper on feed substitution is to be drafted. 9. FAQ on Aquaculture and this group to facilitate a FAQ on aquaculture to compliment the Guide to Aquaculture. 10. Aquaculture Guide To include data on the Omega-3 content of trout in the table used in the Aquaculture guide. 11. Food Standards Invite a FSA representative to the group. Agency 12. Information flow - Aquaculture e-alert to be issued at the beginning of each month. - to be sent to committee members when quarterly fish feed monitor has been placed on the website. - The annual fishmeal and fish oil fact and figures to be updated. 13. Responsible Sourcing Guides Four more Responsible Sourcing Guides are to be produced on Atlantic Salmon, Warm Water Prawns, Pangarius and Tilapia. The existing 26 Responsible Sourcing Guides are to be updated together with the stock status information on the key feed fisheries used in the production of fishmeal and fish oil for the UK market. 14. Facilitation Role A number of the group expressed the view that this is a key role for and it should continue facilitating this group. /Group 9. Date of Next Meeting It was agreed to have three meetings during the first year with the next meeting in late June/early July. The date and venue to be confirmed. 7