The GSIs mission is to provide healthy and sustainable food, while minimizing environmental impact, improving social contribution and economic stability. Using a unique approach of pre-competitive collaboration when it comes to the environment, we aim to drive significant improvements across the farmed salmon industry at a much greater scale, and much greater speed, than working independently. By aligning our work with the SDG 14 Thriving Oceans, we can ensure we are moving the sector in the right direction to support the future biodiversity of our oceans, and at the same time offer measurable improvements.
With growing global populations and increasing pressure on wild fisheries, aquaculture holds a solution to meeting growing demand for food by offering a nutritious protein with a lower environmental impact. It is the GSIs commitment to ensure farmed salmon is a viable long-term option through establishing sustainable and responsible farming practices. This commitment will be measured through our goal to achieving ASC certification across all member farms by 2020. The ASC standard has strict criteria on all aspects of salmon farming covering key issues which will support SDG 14, including biodiversity, benthic monitoring, responsible use of resources, feed ingredients, wild stocks and fish health. Certification will ensure GSI members are operating to the highest levels of environmental and social integrity, which will support the future of the worlds oceans.
Information on individual GSI members progress towards ASC certification, as well as the industry's overall sustainability performance is transparently available via the GSI website.
To promote development across the aquaculture sector, GSI members and associate members, will also seek opportunities to transfer knowledge gained from the salmon sector to other developing aquaculture species.
To meet SDG 14 and their commitment of accelerated change at speed and scale, the GSI members commit to:
- Driving innovation through continued partnerships and sharing of expertise
- Utilizing GSI model of pre-competitive collaboration to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing of best-practices
- Transparently reporting on performance via an annual industry wide Sustainability Report
- Support knowledge transfer from salmon aquaculture to developing aquaculture sectors to drive accelerated improvements across wider aquaculture industry
Progress reports
By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans
Type of commitment
- Other (please specify): ASC certification
By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based management plans, in order to restore fish stocks in the shortest time feasible, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield as determined by their biological characteristics
Type of commitment
- Other (please specify): Support and engage in fisheries improvement projects, via GSI associate feed members, to promote improvement management of fisheries which are part of the salmon aquaculture supply chain
By 2030, increase the economic benefits to Small Island developing States and least developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism
Type of commitment
- Other : Transfer knowledge from GSI members and partners to developing aquaculture sectors on sustainable aquaculture practices to improve economic benefits
2020
