In a message dated 12/1/2006 6:37:43 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,
Aquatfs@aol.com writes:
Trying to create organic seafood regs given this minefield of real and
perceived organic benefits, requirements for the absence of certain substances and
no requirement for the presence of certain product attributes, and emphasis
on methods of production will prove to be a challenge. Wild caught fish will
face the hurdle that the current regs for organics focus on prescribing
production / farming inputs and methods. There are no controllable or definable
production methods for the production of wild caught fish. There are no
definable farm boundaries and to some extent controls that can be exercised on
terrestrial farm inputs and environment (although one could argue that a
terrestrial farm can never be a closed system and is still impacted by past sins to
the soil, and air and water quality issues beyond the control of the farm).
There are those that would argue that some wild caught fish are sourced from
"pristine" environments, although this would be difficulty to quantify and
measure, let alone control. One good oil or chemical spill and the aquatic
environment changes for some period of time (of course one good drift of pesticide
spraying from an adjacent non-organic crop farm would have interesting
consequences).
Greetings:
There are well defined methods for harvesting seafood in the wild. There are
standards and requirements under FDA's HACCP regulations, CFR 123, to
determine the safety of fish from harvest to consumption with rigid guidelines on
how they are to be received, stored, processed and distributed. There are
standard operating procedures assuring the safety of wild caught fish products
from the "boat to the throat".
Wild fish harvesters do not have a federal agency advocating for them like
USDA advocates for aquaculture products. On the contrary, the agency
authorized to manage the wild caught fish has no program aimed at enhancing the
fishermen who harvest fish from the natural environment.
There are many species in the southeast that should be certified as organic.
There are many seafood items that are clean and close to being so pure you
can eat them raw. I would think many pond-raised fish have a much higher level
of man induced toxins than wild caught fish, but having said that, the
levels are usually within the tolerances allowed by governmental regulations.
For a fish species to be declared organic it must pass a stringent review
process based on the safety and quality of the product and not on political
might. In my opinion, wild harvest seafood should be included in any "organic"
designating program.
Cheers,
Bob Jones, Executive Director
Southeastern Fisheries Assn.
1118-B Thomasville Road
Tallahassee, Florida
850.224.0612
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