Scottish independent certification and inspection body, Food Certification International (FCI), is in the process of carrying out its first Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) pilot trout audit for Turkish fish farm company, Kilic Group.
The pilot audits are a test run of the ASC’s finalised Freshwater Trout standards, which were developed by worldwide experts over a period of six years with support from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
FCI says the Kilic Group was keen to be tested against the new standards at its trout farm in Kahramanmarąs, east Turkey.
Paul Macintyre, aquaculture director of FCI, said: “ASC use a metrics based audit system focusing on environmental impact, social best practice, human resources, occupational health and safety, and protecting biodiversity. It is important their development is field tested in a number of countries so they may be applied appropriately and fairly.”
Mr Macintyre told World Fishing and Aquaculture: “Currently the benefit of ASC certification relates to the ambition of fish farmers to improve their environmental impact and demonstrate a point of difference with their competitors. The trials provide the opportunity for the client, FCI and ASC to receive feedback and a better understanding around the auditability of the new trout module. FCI believes there are opportunities with the ASC standard in trout, salmon and molluscs and will be taking forward accreditation for these species.”
Once the ASC Trout standard is finalised, FCI will be able to undertake full assessments. FCI successfully completed the first pilot audit in the United Kingdom against the ASC Salmon standard at the end of last year.
