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Registered Charity England and Wales No. 1004005 | Scotland No. SC037480
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Common name - Arctic char
Scientific name - Salvelinus alpinus
Rating
  • 1
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  • 5
Farmed
Accreditation Organic
Production method Organic, land based recirculating systems
Production country Ireland
Production area All
Summary
Organic Certification Standards for farmed Arctic char set comprehensive standards for cultivation which includes third party auditing and inspection. These standards, with the combination of land based recirculating production systems, lead to better overall environmental performance as a number of negative environmental impacts are addressed. With organically farmed fish feed must be produced from by-products of human consumption fisheries and organic certified plant raw materials.
Biology
A member of the Salmonidae family (as are salmon and trout), Arctic char (or charr) are both a freshwater and marine fish. Anadromous forms of the fish spend the majority of their lives at sea and those forms that do not migrate to the sea live in lakes and rivers. They are native to the cold water of the Arctic and sub-arctic, occupying coastal waters and lakes. It is also a native species to Scotland where is it found in deep, cold glacial lakes, as can be found in similar deep waters in the rest of the UK. It can reach sizes over 9kg but more typically are offered for sale at 1 -2 kg. In the wild they have a varied diet comprising of fish, insects, and crustaceans. Arctic char are very sensitive to water pollution and acidification.
Production Information
The production of fish using onshore-based, freshwater recirculating systems addresses the issues of environmental concern that can arise from open water production as interaction with, and therefore impact on, the environment is prevented. The negative effects that can be associated with open waters systems such as uncontrolled discharges, escapes of farmed fish, transfer of disease and parasites, habitat damage and adverse effects on local wildlife are prevented by the containment systems in use.
References
Common Aquaculture Methodology 2011 Assessment
Alternatives
(Based on method of production, fish type, and consumer rating: only fish rated 3 and below are included.)
Read what the consumer pages of the Good Fish Guide say about this species.