Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) formalising a common goal of increasing the sustainability of aquaculture production and practices around the globe.
Agreed at Seafood Expo Global 2023 in Barcelona, the MoU builds on work by the ASC and SFP on data sharing and aligning information systems.
ASC and SFP are currently building a work plan for the next steps of the collaboration.
“We are excited to explore new ways of collaborating with SFP who we have a longstanding and successful history of partnership for many years. By working together on scaling our efforts in the aquaculture improvement space, enhancing the sustainability of the reduction fisheries sector based on ASC Feed Standard requirements and coordinating our market engagement efforts, we aim to leverage our shared work with farmers, feed suppliers and other stakeholders,” ASC CEO Chris Ninnes said.
SFP Founder and CEO Jim Cannon said the collaboration is a powerful opportunity to increase sustainable aquaculture production.
“With the ASC, we can innovate and enhance the scope of aquaculture improvement projects so that more producers can improve practices, more government regulators can strengthen governance, and more buyers can find meaningful ways to engage and support improvements,” Cannon said.
A key project in the works is ASC’s Improver Programme – aimed at helping producers who cannot currently achieve certification improve their farming practices and performance and reach a level that meets certification requirements.
ASC and SFP plan to develop a process designating stepwise improvements across at least four impact area modules (water quality, disease management, feed and effluent). Together, the organisations will also look into developing a framework to monitor and track progress.
The two organisations also intend to work together on increasing sustainability and reducing the ecological footprint of aquaculture feed ingredients and production. Furthermore, in collaboration with a other partners, they want to deliver an improvement framework for South American fisheries based on ASC Feed Standard requirements and aligned to the goals of the Global Roundtable on Marine Ingredients.
