In common with other forms of food production there is some consumer interest in organic aquaculture.  However fish farmers have been slow to adopt the organic standard as many claim that modern aquacultural practices are already “organic” in principal but do not meet the strict legal interpretation of the term. The main principles of organic aquaculture are as follows:

• monitoring of environmental impact
• natural breeding procedures without use of hormones and antibiotics
• integration of natural plant communities in farm management
• no use of inorganic fertilisers (only relevant to carp farmers)
• no synthetic pesticides and herbicides
• feed and fertiliser from certified organic agriculture and fisheries
• organic criteria of sustainability for fishmeal sources
• absence of GMOs in stocks and feed
• stocking density limits
• restriction of energy consumption (e.g. regarding oxygenation)
• preference for natural medicines
• processing in approved organic facilities