54 Industry Review
Sustainability - Building confidence in Asian shrimp D
iscussed but often left asunder is the sustainability of Asian shrimp. This question was brought up in the earlier session on markets (see pages 4-6). Asian shrimp is probably trailing behind Ecuador and needs concerted efforts to catch up. Therefore, how can we improve our sustainability quotients, especially when the Netflix documentary Seaspiracy made this front and centre of an aquaculture target. Preparedness is key. At TARS 2021, Dr Marcela Salazar, Chairman of the Welfare Committee for Benchmark PLC, brilliantly described the progress made with sustainability along the supply chain but she also said that there is a lot more to be done. Benchmark has been pioneering sustainability in aquaculture over the past 20 years. There have been some significant changes in the last 2 decades, raising the bar for all in several areas: from awareness on the use of antibiotics; habitat destruction and loss of biodiversity, diseases, animal welfare, emission and effluents, to aquafeed supply. In the latter field, two examples of sustainable feed ingredients were presented. Dr Fuci Guo, Business Development Asia, Corbion Algae Ingredients outlined the efforts made on replacing fish oil with a sustainable microalgae omega-3 source. Dr Vincent Fournier, R&D Manager at DianaAqua said that the current linear model of “take-makewaste” is outdated and wasteful and not befitting the modern aquaculture industry. He discussed how side stream products can be converted into high quality and functional ingredients.
Retailers and customers
Salazar walked the audience through the shrimp value chain, examining where progress has been made while discussing some relevant issues. At the end of the supply chain is the customer who should be foremost in our minds. “There is perceived customer effectiveness (PCE), which means that the customer believes that his/her actions will have an impact. Customers with high PCE are willing to pay more for eco-labelled shrimp, hence we should increase customer awareness and create incentives for the sustainable production of shrimp.” Retailers and investors are also key players in this race for sustainable shrimp. A consumer survey showed that a majority of Vietnamese consumers prefer shrimp labelled with eco-certification logos over conventional shrimp. High premium was accorded to third party certified shrimp. “European and US retailers are leading the trend of selling sustainable certified seafood. Most French retailers and institutional food service companies have committed to selling only sustainable seafood.” ESG (Environmental Social Governance) issues are considered, added Salazar. “In 2006, only 63 investment companies incorporated ESG into their investment decisions. At present, more than half of global asset owners are implementing or evaluating ESG into their investment strategies.”
This session on building sustainability in Asian shrimp had three presenters and two industry panellists, from top left, Dr Marcela Salazar, Benchmark Genetics, Colombia; Dr Fuci Guo, Corbion Algae Ingredients, Malaysia; Vincent Fournier, Diana-Aqua, France; Haris Muhtadi, Associate Director, PT CJ Feed and Livestock Indonesia and Han Han, Founder and Executive Director, China Blue Sustainability Institute, China.
September/October 2021 AQUA Culture Asia Pacific
