The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) has launched its new certification standard for farmed seafood.
Aligning the 12 ASC species standards into one global standard, ASC said its new Farm Standard brings greater consistency to requirements across all species standards.
“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 CEO Chris Ninnes said.
According to ASC Director of Standards and Science Michiel Fransen, the standard, which is built on the four pillars of fish, farm, people and planet, empowers producers to meet regulatory and market demands, enhance farming practices and fish health, prioritise worker and community wellbeing, and protects biodiversity.
The standard was unveiled at the Seafood Expo Global 2025 in Barcelona, Spain.
Speaking at the launch event, Global Salmon Initiative (GSI) CEO Sophie Ryan, described the new standard as “ambitious yet practical”.
She 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 overburden to limit progress.”
Nomad Foods Group Sustainability Manager Oliver Spring also showed support, commenting: “We can see that the ASC Farm Standard and the ASC programme 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.”
ASC is implementing a two-year transition period to provide the time companies need to adapt their practices to fully implement the new standard. Existing ASC species standards will remain operational during this time.
