Passing the Panda Standard: A TAD Off the Mark?

Tilapia, a tropical freshwater fish native toAfrica, is an increasingly important global food commodity. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), a major environmental nongovernmental organization, has establishedstakeholder dialogues to formulate farm certification standards that promote ‘‘responsible’’ culture practices. As a preface to its ‘‘tilapia aquaculture dialogue,’’ the WWF for Nature commissioned a review of potential certificationissues, later published as a peer-reviewed article. This article contends that both the review and the draft certificationstandards subsequently developed fail to adequately integrate critical factors governing the relative sustainabilityof tilapia production and thereby miss more significant issues related to resource-use efficiency and the appropriation of ecosystem space and services. This raises a distinct possibility that subsequent certification will promote intensive systems of tilapia production that are far lessecologically benign than existing widely practiced semiintensive alternatives. Given the likely future significance of this emergent standard, it is contended that a more holistic approach to certification is essential.