Unima has been awarded Aquaculture Stewardship Certification (ASC) for its aquaculture farm Aqualma which is located in Mahajamba, the northwest coast of Madagascar.
It is the first shrimp farm in Africa to receive ASC certification, which promotes the best environmental and social aquaculture performance.
WFF and Unima began a partnership in 2007 to develop and implement good practices for community development, reforestation and waste management.
Dr Didier Fourgon, WWF fisheries programme officer, said: “When managed responsibly, aquaculture can thrive alongside healthy wild fish populations and without harming the marine environment, including the vulnerable mangrove areas in Madagascar.”
He added: “The ASC shrimp certification is a good starting point to achieve this. It´s a proof of good industrial practices and a quality warranty for European consumers on their product choice.”
The certification is a major step for the shrimp sector across Africa and the export market in Madagascar.
In 2014, shrimp fishing and farming represented 49% of Madagascar’s fish products exports, more than 60% of the farmed shrimp is produced by Aqualma.
Europe is the main consumer of Malagasy shrimps, with imports of 400,000 tonnes of tropical farmed shrimp per year.
“We hope this certification of Aqualma will serve as a model for other shrimp farms and will stimulate further engagement of the broader Malagasy shrimp industry towards sustainable management,” said Nanie Ratsifandrihamanana, country director of WWF Madagascar.
He concluded: “We look forward to continuing our partnership with Unima and also other farms in shrimp producing countries such as Mozambique to implement better practices and help achieve ASC certification throughout the Africa region.”
