Seafood producers certified under Global Seafood Alliance (GSA) programmes made 7,808 documented operational improvements in 2025, underscoring the role of third-party certification in driving continuous progress across global seafood supply chains.
The improvements were recorded across producers certified to GSA’s Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) and Best Seafood Practices (BSP) standards and resulted from corrective actions required following independent third-party audits. At year-end 2025, total certified production at the processing plant level exceeded 3.2 million tonnes.
According to GSA, the improvements spanned key sustainability and compliance areas, including 2,523 actions related to food safety, 2,542 in social accountability, 1,950 in environmental responsibility, 505 in animal welfare and 288 in traceability. Improvements were made across processing plants, farms, hatcheries and feed mills worldwide.
“The nearly 8,000 improvements made across BAP- and BSP-certified facilities in 2025 are a powerful reflection of our industry’s commitment to continuous improvement,” GSA CEO Mike Kocsis said. “We are grateful to the producers and our partners worldwide who embrace third-party certification as a pathway to progress.”
GSA certification programmes grew by 3% in 2025, ending the year with 4,308 certified producers operating in 45 countries. This total included 563 processing plants (covering both farmed and wild-capture seafood), 3,223 farms, 364 hatcheries and 158 feed mills. GSA also reported 16 certified vessels by the end of the year.
Marketplace support for certification remained strong, with more than 200 retail and foodservice companies globally committing to source seafood from BAP-certified producers. The BAP programme recorded an overall retention rate of 86% in 2025.
The year also marked several firsts for GSA certification. Profand Vessels became the first vessels in Argentina to achieve BSP certification. In shellfish aquaculture, Harimanada Co Ltd became the world’s first BAP-certified oyster producer in Japan, while Yumbah Aquaculture achieved the same milestone in Australia.
GSA also announced that eyestalk ablation will be phased out for BAP-certified producers by the end of 2030, a move welcomed by animal welfare advocates within the shrimp sector. In addition, the organisation released new global market research conducted by GlobeScan examining consumer purchasing decisions related to seafood and certification labels.
GSA said the results from 2025 demonstrate how audit-based certification continues to function as a mechanism for measurable improvement, rather than a one-time compliance exercise, as sustainability expectations across the seafood sector continue to rise.
