Friend of the Sea presence spreads in Scandinavia and among aquaculture producers. In the eve of certification announcement of a major Norway fishery, Friend of the Sea completes certification of a Norwegian and world leader in cod farming – Nærøysund AS – which sells “Superfresh cod” through Hallvard Lerøy A/S (leroyseafood.com/en/). In 2008 Nærøysund AS will produce 2,500 tonnes of edible fish, making it one of Norway’s leading companies in this field.
Nærøysund AS plants in Nærøy have been audited by an international certification body. The audit confirmed, among others, that: main water quality parameters are monitored on a daily basis; an action plan is in place to minimize the possibility of escapes, including use of bird nets, maintenance procedures and predators recording; disease prevention strategy is applied; antifoulings, GMOs and hormones are not used; feed optimization strategy is in place, including use of underwater cameras during feeding and a low and decreasing feed conversion ratio of 1.2.
“We are glad of the growing interest for farmed cod. The audit of Nærøysund AS was requested by the Swiss retailer Manor which bravely switched from wild-caught cod to farmed.” comments Dr Bray, director of Friend of the Sea. “We believe farmed cod is currently the only sustainable source of Atlantic Cod – Gadus morhua – which is otherwise overexploited and red listed by the IUCN as endangered in the wild.”
Friend of the Sea – Paolo Bray – Director – paolobray@friendofthesea.org
