Produmar and Aquamar farms Receive ISRTA Letter of Compliance

This month Produmar and Aquamar farms located in Ecuador, received Letters of Compliance under the International Standards for Responsible Tilapia Aquaculture (ISRTA), reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to Tropical Aquaculture Products Inc. 

The standard was developed through a five-year initiative called the Tilapia Aquaculture Dialogue (TAD), organized by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) will manage the implementation of this standard once its development phase is finalized.

The WWF initiated the dialogue, which was run by a six-person Steering Committee. More than 200 people from the production and commercial sectors, as well as governmental and non-governmental organizations also provided input during the creation of this standard. Tropical was involved in the development process through the collaboration of Alfonso Delfini Jr., owner of Aquamar and founding member of Tropical, who whole-heartedly supported this initiative as a member of the TAD Steering Committee.

The ISRTA is a rigorous standard that ranks aquaculture farms on seven environmental and social impact principles:
Compliance with All National and Local Regulations
Management of the Farm to Conserve Natural Habitat and Local Biodiversity
Conservation of Water Resources
Conservation of Species Diversity and Wild Populations
Responsible Use of Resources
Fish Health and Welfare Management in an Environmentally Responsible Manner
Social Responsibility

These principles are designed to reduce the negative environmental and social impacts that can be associated with tilapia farming.

Aquamar and Produmar farms were audited against the ISRTA standard in December of 2010 by Control Union, a GLOBALG.A.P. accredited certifying body. Control Union complies with the requirements for Certification Bodies (CB's) for auditing against the ISRTA.

The audits were conducted in two modules. The first covered the environmental aspects by evaluating the farms under the first six principles of the standard. The second module dealt with the social responsibility component, audited by a leading inspector qualified in Social Accountability 8000. The farms were assessed under the Social Accountability International norm, one of the most rigorous standards in the field of social responsibility. Both farms are planned to receive the ISRTA certification once it's finalized and becomes available later this year.

For Tropical, these standards reinforce and validate the practices already employed throughout our production process. Environmental stewardship and social responsibility are key components to our day-to-day operations and we will continue to adopt new sustainability measures as they become available.

Both Aquamar and Produmar exclusively market their sustainable tilapia through Tropical and we congratulate both farms for this significant achievement!