Collaboration & Membership

GSI

Ventisqueros is a member of GSI since 2014, and jointly, we have identified several key areas where we believe we can have a higher impact when working together, to scale and at a faster rhythm than doing it individually.

Some highlights are:

Achieving 100% of our produced biomass under ASC standard.
Improving sustainable supply of ingredients for our fish feed.
Biosecurity and fish welfare.
Transparency.

Being associate members of GSI, means working together to support the shared interest in the growth and prosperity of the salmon farming industry, as also a commitment to improve its sustainability. With our commitment, we are in a better position to approach challenges and to find practical solutions, invest in the necessary investigation and incorporate new innovations.

OUR COMMITMENT TO ASC CERTIFICATION

As Ventisqueros, we have decided to compare our performance by committing to achieve that 100% of our production obtains the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification. Developed through the dialogue with interested areas and over 150 indicators that consider environmental, economic, and social performance, ASC is considered the most challenging and complete certification available. To obtain it, the farming sites and facilities must fulfill a rigorous performance evaluation and comply with over 500 evaluation aspects. After obtaining ASC certification, farming sites are subjected to periodical auditing processes to guarantee they continue complying with strict requirements.

As Ventisqueros, we are pleased to have achieved over 84.603 tons of GSI salmon certified ASC. In 2020, we achieved the certification of 80% of our harvested biomass.

We use ASC standard as a point of reference to follow-up on our progress towards a sustainability improvement. We also keep working with a series of additional standards, which include Best Aquaculture Practice (BAP) and Global GAP (Good Agricultural Practice).

ASC certification can only be achieved in farming sites that have been audited independently by third parties, according to the strictest standards in the industry. In Ventisqueros, we are committed to conduct significative improvements regarding the sustainability of our salmon farming operations and to achieve the highest standards of environmental and social performance. Transparency plays an important role in this, and we understand that our progress in the achievement of our sustainability goals requires evaluation. Therefore, ASC offers a trustworthy and credible way to achieve it.

We believe that choosing this certification as our point of reference gives the opportunity of providing our customers, and society in general, the certainty that we are operating in a responsible way and, at the same time, offering a high-quality product. The Seafood Watch program of Monterey Bay Aquarium recommends ASC certified salmon as a “good alternative” and therefore is in the list of sea products recommended for buyers and consumers of sea products. When customers buy salmon with ASC certification, they can be certain that they are choosing sea products certified with the highest social and environmental standards.

ASC standards are developed in line with the FAO guidelines and is the only one recognized as a member of @ISEALalliance. ASC standard measurements for salmon have over 150 metrics to calculate responsibility in production, and that is why it is our standard to measure the progress in our route towards sustainability. The requirements of ASC program acknowledge to aquaculture producers that treat their fish respectfully, as their employees, neighbors, and surrounding ecosystem. To protect the health and welfare of animals on the aquaculture is also one of the focuses of our company. Besides, there is synergy between environmentally responsible practices and good animal welfare, meaning that what is good for the environment is often also good for the fish.

ASC norms include a series of requirements that promote animal health and welfare.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY WITH FIORDO AUSTRAL

Salmon production and processing are used in their whole. Waste is used as raw material to produce fish feed and oil, pet food and Omega-3 capsules.

Ventisqueros creates value with organic waste and values salmon residues, through Fiordo Austral, a Chilean company of 1.200 persons, distributed along 7 industrial complexes located in the regions Metropolitana, Del BíoBio, Los Lagos, Aysén and Magallanes y Antártica Chilena.

Ventisqueros is one of the main promoters and developers of a sustainable aquaculture in the country. We are pioneers in using as raw material the organic waste of our activity to create products of high nutritional value, providing a better diet to millions of people and animals.

Our company, along with Fiordo Austral, processes the salmon organic waste from hatcheries, farming sites and processing plants, investing in R&D to keep on creating value from the treatment of silo resulting from our operation, of the salmon and fishing industry.

This allows us to be agents that contribute to the development of part of the Sustainable Development Goals of UN for 2030, where one the biggest contributions is in the reduction of waste generation through activities of prevention, reduction, recycling and reusing.

Only in 2020, thanks to our alliance with Fiordo Austral, Ventisqueros transformed over 18 thousand tons of organic residues into a subproduct that allows to promote circular economy, contribute to a better diet, reduce the impact of our activity in the environment and improve the quality of life of communities that coexist with other industry.