Fishwelfare

Aims and objectives

The project FISHWELFARE aims at identifying key aspects for an ecologically sustainable finfish aquaculture in a Swedish context. To achieve this, we will evaluate five different methods for current aquaculture fish production concerning (i) their degree of being ecological according to the EU Directive 834/2007 and directive 710/2009, (ii) the Swedish KRAV/DEBIO requirements for ecological aquaculture and (iii) their degree of being ecologically sustainable from a more overarching Industrial Ecology point of view.

Important objectives are:

1. To describe, analyze and evaluate the current EU regulation and Swedish KRAV certification on ecological fish production by means of aquaculture,
2. To describe in detail five different means of fish production (i) Norwegian salmon production in cages, (ii) perch cultivation according to the Swedish project ABBORÖS, (iii), pikeperch production in a semi-closed land based system according to Ljusterö lax & gös, (iv) perch production in a totally closed system with combined fish and vegetable production, (v) ecological (KRAV certified) rainbow trout aquaculture by Gustavalax AB, Hagfors Sweden
3. To evaluate the five production chains from (i) the EU Directive point of view, the Swedish KRAV/DEBIO requirements and (ii) a broader sustainability point of view based on an Industrial Ecology approach,
4. To organize three different workshops with key persons in Swedish aquaculture and where the project results are discussed and analyzed,
5. To elaborate a list of key aspects for a more ecologically sustainable aquaculture that can later be used as a basis for the development of key indicators for sustainable aquaculture

Societal value of the research

The project will provide a comparison of traditional and ecological means of fish aquaculture from a broad systems point of view and support an improved discussion and decision-making on fish aquaculture under Swedish conditions. We believe this could further boost interest in aquaculture in the country. To facilitate for Swedish SMEs to start aquaculture in a more ecologically sustainable way will result in a number of societal benefits:
• A stimulation local production
• Higher quality products
• Higher food security
• Increased number of work opportunities
• Increased interest in fish products

For more information please contact Björn Frostell