A first for salmon ‘certified organic’

Creative Salmon, based in Tofino, BC, recently announced that it has achieved all the criteria set out in the Canadian Organic Aquaculture Standard. It is the first farm salmon producer in North America to achieve organic certification under this standard.

With farms in nearby Clayoquot Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island, Creative Salmon is a small Canadian-owned company that has been raising indigenous Pacific Chinook (King) salmon using sustainable methods for many years. Accredited certifying body Global Trust regularly audits Creative Salmon to verify compliance with the standard.

“We are thrilled to be a leader in organic aquaculture,” says Tim Rundle, Creative Salmon’s General Manager. “Consumers are looking for organic product. Creative Salmon is proud to offer an organic product backed by a made-in-Canada standard.”

In order to meet the certification requirements, organic fish must be reared at half the density of conventional farm-raised fish. “At Creative Salmon our fish have a low density environment occupying less than one per cent of the volume of their pen, even when fully grown,” says Rundle.

The organic standard also addresses chemicals, prohibiting antifoulants on nets. “At Creative Salmon we clean and maintain our sites and our nets by power washing with sea water or by exposing them to natural ultraviolet from the sun,” says Rundle.

Fish feed used by Creative is composed of sustainably-sourced fish meal and fish oil. Ingredients also include certified organic wheat as a binder and a naturally sourced pigment derived from a yeast.

“Our fish are fed a diet as close to their natural one as possible in a farm setting,” says Rundle. “Our major supplier, Taplow Feeds, is a valued partner in our organic process and is also certified to the organic standard.”

The organic certification also applies to Creative Salmon’s Sea Spring Hatchery as well as Lions Gate Fisheries’ processing plants in both Tofino and Delta, BC.

More information about the standards may be found at  www.aquaculture.ca/files/organic–standard.php ‎