Aquaculture plays a critical role in the global seafood trade, contributing substantial economic value and food safety . Over the years, the industry has experienced substantial growth and is projected to continue expanding in the future. Ensuring t he long term sustainability and longevity of aquaculture operations depend on the widespread adoption of responsible and sustainable farming practices that prioritize the health and welfare of aquatic species throughout their lifecycle.
In this context, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) provides a globally recognized certification and labelling program for responsibly farmed seafood. ASC’s certification program empowers farmers by enabling them to differentiate their products, expand market access, and build consumer trust through verified responsible practices
To strengthen its approach, ASC has brought together its twelve species-specific standards into one robust Farm Standard to provide greater consistency. Th is consolidated Farm Standard is structured according to four principles – with the new, fourth principle developed to put fish welfare front and centre of the new approach.
The welfare principle will include criteria on health and welfare related to the daily operations at the farm, handling and slaughter requirements. The welfare requirements have monitoring stipulations , however given the diversity of farmed species, production systems and current gaps in scientific data, no new set parameters for stocking density etc have been included in the standard . Instead, it introduces a novel, flexible traffic light system that is tailored to accommodate the species being farmed, their life stage and th e unique farm context. Farms are required to define Acceptable, Warning Levels and Unacceptable Thresholds for t he traffic light system for each requested operational welfare indicator, promoting context specific m anagement and continuous improvement.
The presentation will focus on discussing the rationale for adding the traffic light system for specified welfare requirements to the standard as well as the tools created to support the implementation on farm.