Background
Farmed seafood, or aquaculture, is an immensely diverse sector with a global footprint, from small-scale local producers to multinational enterprises whose production is largely (>90%) in Asia. Aquaculture contributes to economies and food and livelihood security, but also has environmental and social impacts. The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) sets the standards for seafood and delivers the world’s leading independent certification programme for responsibly farmed seafood.
ASC’s robust standards champion the role of communities in seafood farming. Certified farms, meeting strict social and environmental standards, actively contribute to community well-being.
All of ASC’s standards include indicators that address the International Labour Organization Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Championing Human Rights
ASC’s standards prioritize social requirements, safeguarding human rights in aquaculture and surrounding communities, and enhancing well-being and quality of life.
All of ASC’s standards include indicators that address the International Labour Organization Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. These indicators have strong requirements for safe, healthy and respectful workplaces. This includes topics such as freedom of association, collective bargaining, no forced labour, no child labour, no discrimination, and minimising negative impacts on communities. Third-party social auditors verify farms’ performance, published through publicly available audit reports.
To implement these principles across diverse markets and at every level of the supply chain, ASC is committed to collaboration and understanding local contexts.
Empowering the Whole Supply Chain
Fully-fledged certification is a powerful tool for improving social outcomes, but it may not always be the ideal solution. This is especially relevant where market demand for sustainable, certified products is lacking or for small-scale producers who cannot absorb additional costs and complexity.
For this reason, ASC created the Improver Programme, which supports farms that are not ready or eligible for ASC certification but are committed to improving their farming practices. The Improver Programme (IP) works with local organizations to build capacity in the value chain. It allows small-scale producers or marginalized actors to access information and capacity for improvement that are otherwise difficult to obtain.
The IP has a credible and transparent model for Aquaculture Improvement Projects (AIPs), which creates an enabling environment for aquaculture stakeholders to improve operational efficiencies and social outcomes simultaneously.
From Challenges to Growth
A big challenge for ASC is the disparities in the farming systems it covers, including size, geography and culture. To ensure that ASC standards are globally accessible and equitable, ASC works hard to identify the suitable models for different producers and markets. All ASC’s assurances, including full certification, the Improver Programme, and other services (such as its greenhouse gas calculator and human rights projects), are anchored by robust commitments to collaboration, widespread value creation, independent verification, and transparency.