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Building on Progress: Women Leading Aquaculture’s Future, in Our Own Words
March 7, 2025
This International Women’s Day, we celebrate the remarkable women driving transformative change in aquaculture, not just today, but for the future. At ASC, we’re proud to have pioneering women like Patricia, Pla, and Laetitia, shaping a more sustainable and equitable industry.
Women are the backbone of aquaculture, from farm management to global trade with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation reporting that women make up 70% of the aquaculture workforce worldwide. We’re committed to building on the progress made, ensuring that women’s vital contributions are fully recognised and empowered.
Patricia Bianchi, Governance Manager for the Improver Programme by ASC is passionate about driving positive change in the aquaculture industry, particularly through her work with the Improver Programme.
“By supporting farmers in Latin America to meet higher environmental and social standards, we are fostering more sustainable practices while also creating opportunities for women in the sector. Women play a crucial role in aquaculture, from farm management to processing and trade, yet they often face barriers. While the ASC standard includes anti-discrimination requirements and supports the role of women within aquaculture, additional efforts are needed to break down these barriers further.
Through capacity-building initiatives and collaboration with partners, I promote a more inclusive industry. Recently, I had the opportunity to participate in the Women in Ocean Food programme by HATCH, which reinforced the importance of innovation and female leadership in aquaculture. Engaging with diverse professionals across the sector highlighted the key role women play in their communities and demonstrated how empowering them strengthens and makes more resilient the seafood industry.”
Pla Duangchai, Improver Programme by ASC Manager in Asia, has worked alongside talented, hardworking women who break barriers and push boundaries every day.
“We all know that there is a large proportion of women working and taking a key role in seafood industries and aquaculture farming, whether at the production level, both small and large scale, or steering the industries’ direction. During my aquaculture work in the region, I have been fortunate enough to have a chance to work and collaborate with many women who are very smart, trustworthy, capable, expert, and hardworking, developing themselves and pushing their boundaries This creates confidence and proves that women are capable of doing any work and can create efficiency growth on macro-micro economic scales.
It is delightful to see that nowadays gender equality in aquaculture is more of a focus, because for a lot of women, especially those who live in diverse cultures, awareness and opportunity can be out of reach. Some women are still looking forward to working in decent conditions where they feel safe, confident to be herself, secure enough to have their kids, and receiving equal opportunity and fair treatment.
I believe this cannot be perfectly complete today or tomorrow and nobody can achieve this on their own. This has influenced me a lot while working in the Improver Programme by ASC which creates opportunities for us to work with the aquaculture communities and stakeholders, especially smallholders in low-middle income countries where we can construct from a small thing to a bigger impact. We believe that empowering women, to mother, wife or daughters of the family, not just only creates awareness of rights and a safe environment for women, but also enables women to increase their sustainable income and create economic efficiency in their families and communities.”
Laetitia Rosing, ASC Producer Outreach and Regional Manager for the Nordics has now been with ASC for just over a year and a half. Her Producer Outreach role involves supporting and advising the producers who have chosen to certify according to the ASC standard.
“I provide input on technical certification-related questions (in collaboration with my technical colleagues), and I also support the producers commercially and in terms of communication. In our Nordic team, we work across the entire value chain, from feed producers and aquaculture farms to the market and consumers. A key part of our work is to communicate what the ASC standard entails, and to explain how we work to drive positive change in the aquaculture industry. We emphasise why the ASC standard is a strong choice for producers, grocery chains, and consumers who want to know more about the origin of their seafood and how it is produced. ASC’s stringent standards ensure that seafood sold with the ASC label is produced in a sustainable manner, with consideration for the environment, for people that work in the industry, and for fish and seafood being produced. I am extremely proud to work for the ASC, both because of the standard’s contribution to a sustainable future for the aquaculture industry and because of the organisation’s strong culture. ASC is an inclusive workplace that values support, collaboration, and making each other successful. I believe a positive work environment is crucial for both wellbeing and performance, and in this regard, ASC truly excels.”
Of course, this is just a tiny snapshot of the huge and diverse experience of women working at ASC, let alone all of the inspirational women in the wider industry.
ASC is devoted to inspiring a greater push towards diversity in the aquaculture industry. All of ASC’s standards include social requirements that include fair treatment of all workers and the prohibition of any form of discrimination.
ASC is committed to building on this foundation by further empowering women, driving progress towards a truly equitable and sustainable aquaculture future. Let’s continue to celebrate and support the women who are shaping the future of our industry, today and every day.
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