ASC looks at driving change in aquaculture

On the second day of the show, the ASC session was opened by CEO Chris Ninnes, who demonstrated some of the big commitments made to the programme, bringing the session to life with a preview of a new ASC film showing how 30 farms in the State of Rio de Janeiro are dedicated to gaining ASC certification in readiness to supply the Rio 2016 Olympics.

“It’s these types of commitments that have the power to really drive improvements in aquaculture,” Mr Ninnes explained, referring to pledges from the Global Salmon Initiative and the Rio 2016 Organising Committee.

“There are now 127 ASC certified farms in the ASC programme and a further 67 in assessment,” Ninnes said. “Given the anticipated growth it is important that the aquaculture industry manages its practices responsibly. And, it’s through these combined efforts that we can achieve the biggest impact reduction,” he added.

Panellists shared their views on how the ASC programme and farms contribute to transforming the aquaculture industry, how producers are driving change and improving their performance and the role of supply chain partners.

The latest market figures were also presented at the Expo, revealing ASC has breached the 2000 products mark – a 110% increase in approved ASC certified products since last year.

“This growth demonstrates the commitment of farms and supply chain businesses to improvements in environmental and social responsibility and the ASC programme,” Mr Ninnes concluded. “And, it honestly couldn’t have been achieved without their hard work and dedication. We now have more than 480 businesses that have chain of custody certification, 42 of these are in North America.”