WASHINGTON -- After more than a decade of delays, the government is moving toward allowing the sale of U.S.-raised organic fish and shellfish. But don't expect it in the grocery store anytime soon.
The Agriculture Department said it will propose standards for farmed organic fish this year. That means the products could be available in as few as two years -- but only if the USDA moves quickly to complete the rules, and companies decide to embrace them.
Organic fish and shellfish would be welcome news for the increasing number of organic shoppers and retailers that have profited from their higher prices. It could also help the U.S. farmed fish industry find a premium as it struggles to compete against cheaper imports.
Among the U.S. seafood that could be covered: salmon, tilapia, catfish, shrimp and mollusks such as mussels, oysters and clams.
The U.S. is "trying to play catch-up on organic aquaculture," said Miles McEvoy, who heads the USDA's organic program. The European Union and Canada, along with other countries, have been exporting their own organic products to the U.S.
Retailer Wegmans already is selling organic fish and shellfish imported from Norway and elsewhere. Organic shoppers "skew to higher income and education, which makes them extremely desirable," said Dave Wagner, the company's vice president of seafood merchandising.
Other retailers, such as Whole Foods, said they will wait for the U.S. rules before they sell fish and shellfish labeled organic.
It's still unclear whether U.S. standards can be successful. Many in the farmed fish industry say they expect the requirements for fish feed may be so strict that they will prohibit enough profitability.
"The challenge is, will consumers be willing to pay for it?" said Sebastian Belle, head of the Maine Aquaculture Association, who has advised the USDA on the organic rules. "The markets will decide that."
In turn, some consumer and environmental groups have said they are concerned the standards won't be strict enough.
The discussions have been marked by tensions over what organic fish should eat and whether some of them can be raised in ocean cages called net pens. McEvoy said the new rules will be based on a series of recommendations from the government's National Organic Standards Board over the past decade.
Some environmental groups criticize the recommendations for suggesting that at first a quarter of the fish feed could be from sustainably wild-caught -- but not organic -- fish. A fish can't be organic, they argue, if it doesn't eat 100 percent organic feed.
Wild fish would not be eligible for the organic label, which would be too difficult to monitor.
The environmental groups also are concerned that fish in ocean pens would be able to escape and contaminate their surroundings. They also worry about ocean contaminants.
"What we're saying is this isn't organic," said Lisa Bunin of the Center for Food Safety.
The recommendations suggest several safeguards: Ocean-farmed fish should be strains of local species, and no net pens could be placed on migratory routes. Producers would have to closely monitor water quality and the impact on the area ecosystem.
For producers, a main concern would be the availability of organic feed.
Breeding organic fish to feed the organic fish could be expensive, and organic grains such as soybeans and canola that make up fish feed are also costly. Some fish feed includes poultry or other land animal byproducts, but that would likely be prohibited, as would most synthetic ingredients.
Neil Sims, a longtime fish farmer based in Hawaii, said that if the rules have such strict limitations on feed, it could be unworkable for many companies.
"You can't magically wave a wand and expect an organic supply chain to appear," he said.
Even if some companies do take steps to grow organic fish, the process could stretch beyond two years. The National Organic Standards Board, which advises the USDA's National Organic Program, is still reviewing some vaccines, vitamins and other substances considered essential to aquaculture.
Linda ODierno of the National Aquaculture Association said that despite some of the challenges, the industry is hoping that organics could help consumers feel more confident in a U.S. product that is often already more expensive than fish produced cheaply abroad.
"It could be good for industry and good for consumers," she said.
Business on 04/17/2015