King prawn

Organic production of King prawns (L. vannamei) in Ecuador and Honduras relies on traceable, responsible terrestrial feed ingredients. The marine component of the feed  includes trimmings but whole fish can also be used.

Semi-intensive pond farms are characterised by low stocking densities and the use of only supplemental or no added feed. With large amounts of crop ingredients in these feeds, the feed footprint is relatively small. Organic certification standards require ingredients to be traceable, responsibly sourced and sustainable. Marine by-products within the feed provide fishmeal and fish oil content, vegetable ingredients are organically and responsibly sourced.

The dependency of wild caught fish used in fish meal and fish oil  for farmed King prawn currently indicates that they produce more fish protein than is required in the diet, making them a net producer rather than a net consumer.

Organic production of King Prawn does not allow the destruction of mangroves for pond construction. Only minimal essential chemical treatments are used, if at all, and pond discharges are low. Surrounding wild shrimp populations are not impacted by diseases or escapes from farms, or used to supply juveniles. Methods of predator control are unknown, but may include lethal control.

Historically, the destruction and loss of mangrove habitat due to shrimp farming activities has been one of the main environmental concerns with this production system around the world. To the contrary, in Honduras, most shrimp farms are sited away from high-value habitats, on salt flats behind mangrove forest fringes. In Ecuador, significant conversion of estuary habitat to shrimp farms occurred prior to 1999. Recent marginal conversion on the estuary edge is not considered to represent ongoing loss of functionality in the estuary.

Organic prawn farms avoid chemical usage and low stocking densities employed in King prawn (or Whiteleg shrimp) production, results in minimal chemical and antibiotic use. Likewise, feed inputs are also low and effluent discharge is considered minimal. Organic production systems are required to minimise the impact on the surrounding aquatic and terrestrial environment. The production of King prawns in Ecuador and Honduras relies on hatchery-reared juveniles.

Biosecurity measures set out in organic certification standards limit disease outbreaks and escapes. Shrimp are susceptible to an array of diseases, particularly viral pathogens. Although farmed shrimp diseases can be transferred to wild populations, these wild stocks are not generally impacted in a significant way. Escapes of farmed King prawns, from semi-intensive pond farms, is also a risk but it is unlikely that any population level impacts would occur as a result of competitive or genetic interactions with wild King prawns, if escapes occurred.

Shrimp farming often requires the control of local predators. Organic standards permit lethal control in certain circumstances (i.e., when non-lethal methods have proved ineffective), in line with EU regulations. However, lethal control is not the norm, more usually the use of noise deterrents (such as firecrackers) and dogs are adequate to scare predators away from shrimp ponds. Lethal control of predators has been documented in some countries but unlikely to affect the population size of the affected species.

Organic certification standards ensure that best practices and guidelines are in place to address the welfare needs of animals within organic aquaculture.

Health and welfare standards are referenced throughout the standards. Specific requirements address health and welfare of aquaculture animals, and humane slaughter, where techniques must render fish immediately unconscious and insensible to pain.

Independent organic certification standards address many of the issues of environmental concern and ensure compliance. Honduras and Ecuador require environmental impact assessments for larger farms, but not those of a smaller scale. Management and regulation of the aquaculture sector is comprehensive, however it needs to be better resourced to ensure effectiveness.

As a result of the significant impact diseases had on the sector during the 1990s, present-day shrimp farmers in Ecuador and Honduras mainly favour semi-intensive production practices. These historical disease issues also prompted greater scrutiny of the regulations governing the sector and resulted in a more robust legal framework being put in place. However, a review of the sector indicates that current governance may not be adequately resourced to effectively manage the potential environmental impacts of the industry, particularly as the sector expands and production increases. Although organic standards address many of the production practice specific issues the issues of overarching regulation and management of the sector remain unchanged.

The Soil Association defines organic farming as a system of farming and food production. Organic farmers aim to produce high quality food, using methods that benefit our whole food system, from people and planet, plant health to animal welfare. The score for this section reflects EU Organic and Soil Association certified producers that are in full compliance with the standard.