Results of the GOAL 2016 audience poll questions
Attendees of Guangzhou event weigh in on industry’s major challenges, area management and antibiotics
Each year the attendees of the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s GOAL conference – held in September in Guangzhou, China – have the opportunity to answer poll questions posed by speakers and moderators of panel discussions.
Here are this year’s answers (all reported in percentage of overall responses):
What sector of the seafood business are you in? (90 responses)
Producer
20
Supplier
17
Buyer
29
Government/institutional
6
Other (finance, academia, NGO)
29
In which continent do you primarily do business? (90)
Asia & Australia
32
Europe
9
North America
57
Central & South America
1
Africa
1
Is “Prof. Wally Stevens’” assessment of the aquaculture industry still appropriate now? (72)
[Note: In 2015, Stevens gave the industry the following grades, in terms of how it was handling its major challenges: disease (D); feed (C); environment (B); social responsibility (D); market support (B); investor support (C); leadership (incomplete); consumer awareness (C)]
Yes
72
No, because we have improved
26
No, because we have improved greatly
1
What is the most important challenge limiting aquaculture? (87)
Health & disease management
53
Feed
6
Environmental/social issues
21
Leadership/investment/marketplace
11
Education
9
Which is the primary species of your business? (63)
Crustaceans
54
Salmonids
13
Marine finfish
11
Freshwater finfish
22
Bivalves
0
How should GAA communicate the Best Aquaculture Practices Biosecurity Area Management standards? (79)
As a BAP fifth star
28
Include in the BAP system, but revamp the star structure
18
As a special area management status listed on GAA website
25
Incorporate as a future element of the BAP farm standards
29
Do you think the industry has the capability to eliminate antibiotic residues? (72)
Yes
47
No
53
Do you think the industry has the will to eliminate antibiotic residues once and for all? (60)
Yes
40
No
60
Which is the most effective approach to managing antibiotic use? (74)
Make no change
0
Ban all use of antibiotics
7
Implement biosecurity area management
39
Ban antibiotics WHO deems critical for human use
22
Limit antibiotic treatments within a farm production cycle
32
Who do you think is best placed to ensure antibiotic residues are eliminated? (74)
Farmers
26
Processors
8
Certification schemes
5
Government
18
All of the above
42
How does the marketplace address food safety while meeting growing demand for seafood? (68)
Increased purchases through non-traditional sources
0
Tighter control of supply chains, with better traceability
25
Greater adoption of third-party certification schemes
19
A combination of the above
54
Status quo – no change to current purchasing practices
1
What pressure will the marketplace put on suppliers to eliminate antibiotic residues? (69)
Trust the current food safety measures of suppliers
3
Source more products from trusted suppliers
49
Mandate a zero detection and require product testing
22
Mandate a zero-tolerance policy at the farm level
26
The industry’s best approach to labor issues is: (75)
More effective government regulations
35
Encourage national boycotts
1
Better understand supply chain
47
Back FIPs, VIPs, certification
15
Replace fishmeal in aquafeeds
3
What progress has been made on social issues in two years? (75)
None, it has increased
3
None
4
Marginal gains
81
Significant gains
12
Problem largely fixed
0
Has there been progress in the battle against forced labor in the past year? (18)
Yes, greatly
6
Yes, somewhat
89
No, not at all
6
How concerned are your customers about antibiotic use in aquaculture? (20)
Very concerned
75
Somewhat concerned
20
Not concerned
5
How do you feel about innovation? (68)
I seek out the newest thing
28
I’m an “early adopter”
44
I wait until it’s common
24
I wait until it’s ubiquitous
3
I lag behind others
1
What areas of aquaculture are investors most interested in? (68)
Feed sustainability (alternative ingredients)
57
Indoor/land-based recirculating systems
16
Offshore fish farming
7
Biotechnology
15
New species
4
What factor most limits scalability? (41)
Outside investment
39
Siting and permitting restrictions
37
Social license
2
Biotechnology
5
Information sharing/dissemination
17
Are the sustainable seafood initiatives just discussed moving the industry forward? (54)
Yes, they’re critical to the sustainable seafood movement
68
Yes, but at times it’s complicated to navigate
26
No, the fewer the NGO-fed initiatives the better
6
What’s the best way to communicate the appeal of seafood’s low feed-conversion ratio (FCR) to consumers? (57)
In-store
12
Traditional media
4
Social media
75
It’s a lost cause – consumers aren’t there yet
9
Author
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