A Norwegian farm has become the first salmon farm to be awarded Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification.
ASC labelled products from the Villa Arctic AS Jarfjord Farm will be available on the market next week.
“This is a crucial first step for the salmon aquaculture industry and we congratulate Villa Arctic AS for their great effort in achieving ASC certification for Jarfjord Farm. Salmon is one of the most popular species and in prime demand – both companies and consumers will benefit from Villa's efforts in demonstrating environmental and social responsibility,” says ASC CEO Chris Ninnes.
Villa Organic AS, the parent company of Villa Arctic AS, has been a leading innovator in sustainable aquaculture and was one of the stakeholders involved in developing the ASC Salmon Standard.
The ASC certified salmon will be sold through Villa Organic’s two main owners, Salmar ASA and Lerøy Seafood Group ASA. Villa Arctic’s total production of salmon was approximately 12,000 tons in 2013.
More salmon farms are expected to be certified this year – the Lerøy Hydrotech – Hognseset Nord farm completed assessment against the ASC Salmon Standard in 2013 and the final report will be published shortly. Three more Lerøy farms were also audited in October/November last year, Lerøy Aurora – Årøya, Lerøy Aurora – Gourtesjouhka and Lerøy Aurora – Solheim. Additionally, Macquarie Farms owned by Tassal Operations Pty Ltd in Australia will be audited on 10 January 2014.
