organic certification

[hygicell]

can somebody tell me if aquaponics can be certified as organic?
does anybody know of any organic certified aquaponics farms anywhere in the world?
greetings
frank

[GaryD]

Hi Frank,

The inhibitor to organic certification of Aquaponics is the food that we feed to the fish.......most commercial rations contain chemicals of some kind or the other.

If the fish food is organic, I can see no reason why Aquaponics ought not be organic. Having said that, I'm not aware of any certified organic Aquaponics systems.....anywhere.

Gary

[hygicell]

Thanks for a reply, Gary
it is obviuous that the food fed to the fish must be organic to receive certification, that is also the case for other animals.

Frank

[GaryD]

Hi,

I think the other barrier to organic certification is the "soil" thing. I'm not aware of any organically certified hydroponics or general aquaculture facilities either.

Gary

[hygicell]

Thanks,

As I walked in the supermarket, I found some herbs (parsley, basil, coriander,...) labeled as "BIO", which is the protected term for organic in Belgium, apparently hydroponically grown.

So hydroponics must be certifiable for herbs.
see swedeponic.com.
http://www.santamariaworld.com/europe/index.jsp
click on concepts, then on organic
greetings

frank

[sunnyside]

See this page for a general introduction to Organic Certification (there are several bodies that do this). In principle there is no reason why aquaponically farmed fish can't be certified. Aquaculturally farmed fish can be.
Don't know of any currently certified Australian operations.... But a quick google found a Malaysian company attempting the certification process.

(From a science background) I find "organic" (carbon-based) a meaningless term, "natural" is too vague... "bio-dynamic".

Personally I'd trust fish/crustaceans and plants produced in an aquaponic system over an "organically certified" farm. The fish/crustaceans in our systems will tolerate little chemicals on the plants... and yabbies are very good indicators of water health.

(late edit) Found one!

[GaryD]

Hi,

Bingo! Thanks for that Sunnyside......it's the first certified aquaculture farm that I've seen.

Gary

[hygicell]

hi Gary and Sunnyside,
thanks for replying
but I would be careful in jumping to conclusions: in a first lookover, I have not found what certifying organisation is controlling this Malaysian company
Please correct me
it is too easy to proclaim yourself as saint
stating that te fish food can "even" be eaten by humans is hardly a proof that even the fish food is organic, less the final produce
some kind of control is imperative
greetings

frank

[GaryD]

Hi,

I must confess that, in terms of my own food production efforts, I'm not really interested in certification. For my purposes, it's just another layer of bureaucracy and additional costs.......it doesn't make the food I grow any cleaner or fresher.

I can, however, see that such certification programs would be important to people who buy their food in supermarkets or similar places.....and who rely on external agencies to assure them that their food is fit to eat.

Gary

[sunnyside]

hi Gary and Sunnyside,
thanks for replying
but I would be careful in jumping to conclusions: in a first lookover, I have not found what certifying organisation is controlling this Malaysian company
Please correct me

Okay
"“In many countries, including Malaysia, certification is a matter of legislation, and commercial use of the word “organic”, outside of the certification framework, is illegal,” said Chris Sharp, director for Organic Aquaculture Development, Fish Protech Pty Ltd. Sharp has been developing organic standards for the Fish Protech systems for the last two years.
Malaysia now has organic certification guidelines for plant-based foods but not for aquaculture products."

So, according to the quoted article, there is "no" organisation controlling organic certification of aquaculture in Malaysia. It's (sic) controlled by the government, and, as yet there is no legislation in place that allows for organic certification....

However the guidelines controlling certification as organic used by the organisations I linked to in the original post do not specifically prohibit the possibility of gaining organic certification for aquaculture/aquaponics in Australia. The quoted Mr Sharp might be able to help you with your enquiries. As could the NZ certified company I found. Unfortunately I don't have the time to help you further however, I believe RDIC and other government bodies are developing a framework for an Australian Certified Organic Prawn Farming industry....

NASA certification would certainly enhance export opportunities - or auction prices at the Sydney Fish Markets! But in my experience certification for traditional agriculture is very costly and time consuming.