The goal of the next meeting of the Shrimp Aquaculture Dialogue, which will be June 3-4 in Madagascar, will be to develop draft criteria and indicators for East Africa’s farmed shrimp industry.

A first draft of criteria and indicators for the Central America/Mexico region was developed in Belize from April 1-2, at the inaugural meeting of the Dialogue in that region.

The Steering Committee created at the meeting to drive the Dialogue process for Central America/Mexico will meet over the next few months to fine tune the draft and ensure that all comments made during the meeting are addressed.

“Farmers are at this meeting because they are interested in farming for the long haul,” said Belize shrimp farmer Alvin Henderson, one of 60 participants at the April meeting.

“They are anticipating some type of economic upside from the Dialogue process, while also protecting the environment. The chance for us all to be in the same room to address these challenges is great.”

The standards developed by the Dialogue will be measurable and performance-based. They will be designed to help reduce or eliminate the key environmental and social impacts related to shrimp aquaculture.

“The standards will be science-based, not aspirational,” said Jose Villalon, director of the WWF Aquaculture Programme, which coordinates the Dialogue.

“If the science is current and accurate, we will see change on the water when the standards are adopted. That change, ultimately, is the goal of the Dialogue.”

If you are interested in participating in the shrimp Dialogue, contact Eric Bernard at ebernard@wwf.fr

For additional information about the Shrimp Aquaculture Dialogue and all of the WWF Dialogues, go to www.worldwildlife.org/aquadialogues

www.fishupdate.com is published by Special Publications. Special Publications also publish FISHupdate magazine, Fish Farmer, the Fish Industry Yearbook, the Scottish Seafood Processors Federation Diary, the Fish Farmer Handbook and a range of wallplanners.

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