A South Australian oyster farm Angel Oysters has been approved with sustainability certification for its approach to farming oysters by Italy-based program Friends of the Sea. Friends of the Sea awards certification for products from sustainable marine environments.
Angel Oysters was already a certified organic operation and can now add this new certification to its achievements.
Zac and Kady Halman bought the farm in 2010 and have since developed it from a traditional oyster growing business into an organically certified premium producer. Director Zac Halman said as an oyster farmer he had focused on the clean and green image since beginning farming four years ago.
The oyster farm uses an adjustable long-line system, which has been implemented in order to monitor the water flow throughout the farms. This means the impact on the sea bed is small and allows the sea grasses to regrow and rejuvenate. A traceability system is also in place, which means the oysters are fully traced from spat to end market.
Mr Halman said while it had been a rigorous process to go through to achieve both certifications, it was worth it. Further, he said that the advantage they now had in the market was big: “For our distributors and exporters it is quite good because it stamps the fact that we are environmentally friendly and a lot of diners are starting to trend towards that sort of food now, especially in seafood. I think they just look at how we are doing our part in protecting the environment and hopefully that will pay us back in return.”
Re-Post: World first in sustainability for Smoky Bay oyster farm | ABC Rural
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