Our farm standards

Our ASC Farm standards were developed by more than 2,000 stakeholders globally. The standard were developed in line with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) guidelines and is the only certification and labelling program for farmed seafood consistent with the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling (ISEAL) Code of Good Practice for Setting Social and Environmental Standards.

There are currently eleven ASC standards: abalone, bivalves (clams, mussels, oyster, scallop), flatfish (including flounder, turbot, and halibut), freshwater trout, pangasius, seabass, seabream and meagre, salmon, shrimp, tilapia, seriola and cobia, and tropical marine finfish (including grouper, snapper, pompano, barramundi, croaker). Since November 2017 there is also a joint ASC-MSC Seaweed Standard.

The ASC standards cover principles and criteria to minimise the key environmental and social impacts in the following area of aquaculture:

• Legal compliance (obeying the law, the legal right to be there)
• Preservation of the natural environment and biodiversity
• Preservation of water resources and water quality
• Preservation of diversity of species and wild populations (e.g., preventing escapes which could pose a threat to wild fish)
• Responsible use and sourcing of animal feed and other resources
• Good animal health and husbandry (no unnecessary use of antibiotics and chemicals)
• Social responsibility (e.g. no child labour, health and safety of workers, freedom of assembly, community relations)

All ASC standards share a set of characteristics which make them unique:

• Robust criteria based on science and best practices including record keeping, monitoring and clear parameters for important indicators of environmental and social performance.
• Commitment to continuous improvement. ASC conducts regular reviews of each standard to ensure they remain robust and meets or exceeds best industry practices.

To view all the standards, please visit this page.

For all inquiries and feedback on any of the ASC standards, please fill in the form and send it to the Standards and Science Team at standards@asc-aqua.org