According to the world’s largest tilapia producer, more than 50 percent of the fish consumed in the U.S. is produced in fish farms. But as we eat our delicious seafood, we’re unaware of the wide gaps in social and environmental principles practiced by the world’s aquafarmers. As the world’s largest aquafarmer, Regal Springs makes a difference in Honduras, Indonesia, and Mexico by helping villagers save the environment and save themselves.
What is Fish For Trees?
Regal Springs’ Fish for Trees program is about people. Through it they have returned $500,000 to local communities for re-investment in schools and community-owned fish farms. The program aims to transition villagers from tree cutters to fish growers. It’s not only good for business, it’s also saving the forests in Indonesia, a country that has lost 72 percent of its original forest, and Honduras, which has lost 37 percent of its forest.
“This business is not about the fish,” said Israel Snir, a 40 year veteran of the aquaculture industry who is now Regal Springs’ senior vice president. “It is about the people. Without the people, we have nothing. And without Regal Springs, the people have less.”
Regal Springs Leads Environmental Standards
Regal Springs is a trendsetter for environmental standards. It practices quality control by analyzing its crop in on-site labs, feeds the tilapia organic grain and uses reprocessed fish oils for bio-diesel fuels to run company vehicles.
‘It’s gratifying to be part of a company that takes its environmental and social responsibilities seriously,’ says Freek Huskens, who heads Regal Springs Indonesian operations. ‘We’re in these communities for the long term. Their successes - whether educationally, environmentally or socially - become our successes.’
Unfortunately, not every aquafarmer takes such care. The result is often fish farmed in waterways contaminated by industrial waste, sewage and agricultural runoff that includes pesticides. Fish absorb chemicals from these uninhabitable waters, which in turn can cause serious health risks.
Partnering with the World Wildlife Fund
Regal Springs is partnering with the World Wildlife Fund to set standards for tilapia farming. In January 2009, the World Wildlife Fund unveiled plans for the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, a third-party group that will audit and certify fish farms that meet stringent requirements. Until these standards are enacted worldwide, which is expected this year, consumers need to be wise and purchase tilapia and other seafood produced only by fisheries committed to the industry’s best practices.
That is why Regal Springs is leading the charge within the Tilapia Aquaculture Dialogue to create standards that will minimize tilapia farming’s impact on local communities (a.k.a. social impacts). They will be combined with standards that address the key environmental impacts and, ultimately, help ensure tilapia farming is economically viable.
“People in the Dialogue, including me, have different opinions but we all work together to find common ground. Because tilapia is produced by the poorest people in the poorest countries, we have a responsibility to be very careful in considering the social impacts on our environmental decisions,” said Snir. “This is a responsibility I welcome and embrace.”
