Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) launched its new certification standard for farmed seafood at the Seafood Expo Global in Barcelona, Spain. Over 200 attendees from across the supply chain—including producers, retailers, processors, industry bodies, and media—joined the long-awaited launch, which included support from industry guest speakers.
Aligning the twelve ASC species standards into one global standard, the ASC Farm Standard brings greater consistency to requirements across all species standards.
Formally launching the Farm Standard, ASC CEO Chris Ninnes said that “sustainability is no longer a trend; it’s the undeniable future, unfolding now. With the population estimated to reach 10 billion by 2050, and with wild-caught fisheries at capacity, the importance of seafood farming will continue to grow, the environmental and social impacts of our industry must be addressed. That is why ASC is driven to accelerate that transformation, not least by championing farms and feed mills that are making Change.”
ASC director of Standards and Science Michiel Fransen said, “built on four pillars—fish, farm, people and planet—the standard empowers producers to meet regulatory and market demands, enhance farming practices and fish health, prioritise worker and community wellbeing, and protects biodiversity.”
Power of collaboration and industry-wide support
The ASC Farm Standard is a testament to the power of collaboration and industry-wide effort, which involved public consultations, interviews and surveys. Since 2019, ASC has received over 1,100 responses from stakeholders to numerous consultations on proposed ASC Farm Standard content.
During the launch, the Farm Standard received industry support from guest speakers representing stakeholders across the supply chain.
Sophie Ryan, CEO of the Global Salmon Initiative (GSI), which unites 40% of the global farmed salmon sector, described the new standard as both “ambitious yet practical.” Ryan said, “We see the Standard playing a critical role in guiding our sustainability journey, but also being a key marker to our stakeholders of our responsible practices. It is ambitious in its scope and its requirements, continuing to demonstrate its leadership in assessing impact across a holistic spectrum of impacts. Yet it is practical in that it follows a risk-based approach to focus on topics where there is the highest risk and reduce the administrative and cost burden where there is low risk. This is something that is key if we are to focus efforts where it is really needed and not overburdened to limit progress.”
Nomad Foods Group sustainability manager, Oliver Spring, also showed support for the Farm Standard. Nomad Foods is Europe’s leading frozen foods company, owning brands including Birds Eye, Findus and Iglo.
Spring said, “We can see that the ASC Farm Standard and the ASC program deliver across the areas that are most important for us, and the customers and consumers we engage with. The holistic approach of the Standard – covering positive environmental impacts, to improvements in human rights and fish and seafood welfare – all delivered through the most robust and ambitious requirements in fish and seafood farming, answers this need.”
Two-year transition period to implement change
Understanding that change takes time and effort, ASC is implementing a two-year transition period. While some early adopters are ready to change now, this will allow others the time they need to adapt their practices to fully implement the new standard. The existing ASC species standards will remain operational during this time.
ASC will work together with producers to with full support in place to ensure a smooth transition and gain their insights into the standard’s practical application and areas for evolution.
Support on offer includes producer training, self-assessment tools, FAQs and targeted, feedback-driven support, as well as the ASC Program Centre to host all program documentation online and increase accessibility.
The ASC Program Centre is an all-in-one digital hub for ASC Certification Programs with Farm and Feed core Program documents online in an interactive, user-friendly format. Documents can also be filtered based on exact specifications.
