56 DECEMBER 2022 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S .ORG Organic blue mussels from Newfoundland. Photo: sunrisemussels.com. helping industry navigate the complex world of certification, so NAIA had been keeping current with trends in industry certification. In the years leading up to the 2009 query about organic mussels, we were part of several industry-led initiatives. In 2008 through 2010 we were involved in the Canadian Aquaculture Standards Forum, an initiative put forward by the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA) to provide industry with collaboratively-developed approaches and options related to implementing certification programs. In 2009 through 2012 we sat on several aquaculture industry standards review committees such as that for the ASC Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue, as well as standards development committees such as the Canadian Organic Aquaculture Standards Technical Committee. With an understanding of certification and standards, and with our strategic priority around certification preparedness leading us, in 2011 the NAIA undertook a program of certification orientation and technical services for our members involved in trout, salmon and mussel farming and processing. The NAIA Certification Benchmarking Project sought to address key knowledge and technical gaps around certification readiness and to alleviate some of the costs associated with certification. The initiative had four key components: certification orientation, benchmarking, program implementation and product promotion. The first component of the project involved a series of certification orientation workshops that set out to comprehensively define standard and certification options for our members. We contracted Global Trust from Ireland to deliver these workshops and together we offered two separate two-day workshops: one for bivalve farming and processing and one for salmonid farming and processing. Global Trust gave the companies an overview of product certification and brought them through a complete review of any existing and upcoming standards that were applicable to each species group. The standards review covered several existing and developing standards, such as those under the banners of Best Aquaculture Practices, Aquaculture Stewardship Council, Marine Stewardship Council, GlobalG.A.P., Safe Quality Foods, “Can blue mussels be certified as organic?” That was the question that mussel farmer and processor Terry Mills of Norlantic Processors called to ask me in 2009. Questions like this from our member companies led the Newfoundland Aquaculture Industry Association (NAIA) to conceptualize a Certification Benchmarking Project, which set the stage for uptake of industry certification and developed capabilities at NAIA that continue to be offered as technical assistance to our members today. Certification has become an important functional component for operations at all levels of the aquaculture industry, from the farmer to the processor and through to the distributor. Certification by licensed third-party certifiers has become quite common as a way for industry to demonstrate key food safety, food quality, social responsibility and environmental sustainability metrics. These days, aquaculture farming and processing companies are well versed in the importance of certification, but back in 2009 some of our member companies had little knowledge about certification. Their customers were asking which certifications they had in place, or which certification schemes they were planning to pursue. So they knew that certification was a fast-growing trend that they would have to eventually become familiar with, but they didn’t know which certification schemes would be most beneficial to their marketing objectives or how to implement certification programs within their companies. Our mussel companies were small, in some cases close to mom-and-pop-scale operations that didn’t have compliance staff in place and they needed help navigating the complex world of certification preparedness. Our larger companies — salmon and trout companies —were fully up-to-speed on certification, with staff in place at their head offices to handle compliance and certification needs. However, some of their local personnel had told us that they needed training to support their companies when it came time to implement certification management programs throughout the company. At NAIA our work planning approaches follow strategic priorities that are developed based on industry challenges or perceived opportunities. One of these priorities was aimed at Certification Preparedness: A Supportive Role for Industry Associations Darrell Green
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjExNDY=