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Shrimp exporters have been given until 2011 to improve the sustainability of their operations and obtain a new environmental certification, or they may find themselves at a disadvantage in international markets.

The certification, demanded by many environmentally conscious foreign buyers, particularly in the major US market, will be issued by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, an independent body sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund, among other organizations.

“It will be applied to both large-scale and small-scale shrimp growers to guarantee sustainable shrimp activity,” Iman Musthofa Zainudin, WWF Indonesia’s fisheries program leader, said on Tuesday.

First proposed in 2007, the 2011 certification deadline was only recently announced by the ASC. The certification will require growers to apply responsible principles in growing and managing their shrimp farms by taking into account environmental and labor issues as well as the origin of their brood stock.

The ASC is still in the process of completing the sustainable principles, adopting them from principles issued by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Ketut Sugama, director of seed development at the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries’ Directorate General of Aquaculture, said small-scale growers would have difficulties meeting certification standards. The Indonesian government might request more time to get shrimp producers up to standard, he said.

However, Imam said the ASC would provide assistance for small-scale producers to improve their farming methods.

Saut Hutagalung, director of foreign trade at the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, said he was concerned that becoming certified would not necessarily translate into shrimp growers getting better prices.