Comparison of organic fish production in China and Croatia

Naziv natječaja: Ugovor o znanstvenoj i tehnološkoj suradnji između Vlade Republike Hrvatske i Vlade Narodne Republike Kine

Izvor financiranja: MZO

Uloga AFZ: koordinator

Ukupna vrijednost: 60.000,00 HRK

Početak provedbe: 01.01.2012.

Završetak provedbe: 31.12.2013.

Purpose of the project: Aquaculture is the production of fish and other water organisms under controlled conditions. Organic aquaculture is an attempt to mitigate some of problems with industrial aquaculture. Organic aquaculture practices would entail raising aquaculture products in a humane manner that is sustainable and does not pollute the environment. Organic Aquaculture certification follows strict requirements and standards. These rules may vary between different countries or certification bodies. The aquaculture industries in general are still figuring out how to be sustainable, what best practices are and what ecological considerations is can or should be implemented. Current standards are often quite strict and some people argue they are sustainable. A number of countries have created national standards and certifying bodies as China and Croatia. The number of certified organic aquaculture operations in the world (including the production of micro algae) amounts to 240 in 29 different countries in 2009 but most of the operations are located in Europe. In China, 72 operations have received organic certification under the national Chinese regulation (freshwater and saltwater) in 2009. Most common in China is carp production in polyculture, i.e. in combination with crabs, shrimps or other local species; but there are also certified operations producing turtles or sea cucumbers. Some of the China’s problems is that fish products labeled organic are not readily visible in stores, and market data are not available. In Croatia there are no certified organic producers in freshwater aquaculture production, only in mariculture. There are regulations for organic production of carp species as well as trout. Also, the aquaculture products in Croatia are poorly represented in the stores and not visible.

prof. dr. sc. Marina Piria
Sveučilište u Zagrebu Agronomski fakultet

prof. dr. sc. Tea Tomljanović
Sveučilište u Zagrebu Agronomski fakultet

prof. dr. sc. Nikica Šprem
Sveučilište u Zagrebu Agronomski fakultet

prof. dr. sc. Tomislav Treer, professor emeritus
Sveučilište u Zagrebu Agronomski fakultet