Not-for-profit organisation Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) has received the highest score amongst seafood farming certification schemes in the latest Human Rights At Sea Report.
In March 2023, NGO Human Rights at Sea (HRAS) issued consolidated and updated data sets behind its report “Does it do What it Says on the Tin?” and amended the scores after review and engagement with rated organisations.
As a result, ASC’s Standards now occupy five of the six top spots when assessed against the 15 key performance indicators (KPIs) set by HRAS. The ASC Farm Standard and ASC Feed Standard scored the highest– accounting for 14 KPIs for each standard.
The 11 ASC Farm Standards covering 17 species and the ASC-MSC Seaweed Standard received the second-highest rating, with each standard scoring 13 out of 15 KPIs. The ASC Chain of Custody scored 12 KPIs.
“The scores for certification operated by ASC have been updated since the report was published. HRAS would like to recognise ASC’s comprehensive engagement with the NGO and its commitment to public transparency and accountability,” HRAS CEO David Hammond said.
A total 17 active schemes were reviewed at the time of publication, covering social indicators on pathway, transparency, monitoring, remediation and legal Issues.
“Once we had established that we shared a compelling and common objective to safeguard workers and local communities, the dialogue around this benchmark was very positive and constructive. We worked closely with HRAS and will continue to do so in the future to achieve these objectives and look forward to the many opportunities this will present,” ASC CEO Chris Ninnes said.
“We welcomed the scrutiny from HRAS and its independent review; and restate our ethos about the importance of tackling social and human right and to be transparent, accountable and for us and the industry to engage with stakeholders.”
A follow-up report will be published in the summer of this year and again at six-monthly intervals, showing the progress that certification bodies have made.
