SALMON AQUACULTURE DIALOGUE

The Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue (SAD) has released a second draft of global standards for salmon farming, covering grow-out sites and smolt suppliers. The standards are organized into seven principles: legal compliance, biodiversity conservation, protection of wild populations, resource efficiency, disease and parasite management, social responsibility, and community engagement. Key requirements include strict limits on escapes, the use of area-based management for sea lice, restrictions on transgenic species, and the phase-out of open net-pen smolt production. The standards will be implemented by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) through third-party certification.

• The standards establish a baseline requirement for all certified farms to comply with all applicable local and national legal requirements and regulations, including land and water use, tax laws, and labor regulations.
• To protect benthic health, farms must maintain specific sediment quality outside an Allowable Zone of Effect (AZE), defined as 30 meters from cages, unless a site-specific AZE is modeled. Standards include a redox potential > 0 mV or sulphide levels ≤ 1,500 microMoles/l.
• The standards mandate a phase-out of acoustic deterrent devices (ADDs) and acoustic harassment devices (AHDs) within two years of publication due to potential pain caused to dolphins, porpoises, and whales.
• Farms in areas with wild salmonids (within 75 km of migration routes or habitat) must participate in area-based management (ABM) schemes and monitor sea lice levels on wild out-migrating juveniles or coastal sea trout.
• The standards prohibit the use of transgenic salmon and the introduction of non-native species, unless the species was already widely commercially produced in the area or a closed containment system is used.
• Strict limits are placed on escapes: zero escape episodes of 200 or more fish are permitted in the most recent production cycle (with one rare exception per 10 years), and total escapees must be fewer than 300 fish.
• Resource efficiency is measured via the Forage Fish Dependency Ratio (FFDR), with a maximum fishmeal FFDR of <1.35 and fish oil FFDR of <2.95 for grow-out.
• The standards prohibit the use of antibiotics listed as 'critically important for human medicine' by the WHO and require a risk assessment for those listed as 'highly important'.
• The standards require a total phase-out of open net-pen smolt production within five years of publication, encouraging a global shift toward closed or semi-closed systems.

APA

WWF International (2011). SALMON AQUACULTURE DIALOGUE. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/860/1j36gxz83u_SAD_Standard_Second_Draft.pdf

Chicago

WWF International. SALMON AQUACULTURE DIALOGUE. 2011. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/860/1j36gxz83u_SAD_Standard_Second_Draft.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF International |title=SALMON AQUACULTURE DIALOGUE |date=16 May 2011 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/860/1j36gxz83u_SAD_Standard_Second_Draft.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfinternational2011salmon, author = {{WWF International}}, title = {{SALMON AQUACULTURE DIALOGUE}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2011}, month = may, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/860/1j36gxz83u_SAD_Standard_Second_Draft.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }