Human Rights in Aquaculture

ASC manages 12 Species Standards, a Feed Standard and shares a joint Seaweed Standard and Chain of Custody Standard with MSC. These standards were developed through public consultation at different moments and vary in their inclusion of human rights requirements. The ASC Farm Standard, which will become mandatory in 2028, aligns all 12 Species Standards’ requirements into one single standard.

All ASC Standards cover the fundamental rights listed in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work:

• Freedom of association
• No forced labour
• No child labour
• No discrimination
• Safe and healthy working conditions

Aspects that align with several other ILO and other conventions include:

• Fair wages
• Transparent contracts
• Decent working hours
• Fair disciplinary procedures
• Fair grievance mechanisms
• Good community engagement

The ASC Feed Standard a also provides a wide range of comprehensive human rights and labour requirements. It includes a Country Risk Scorecard that assigns a social risk level to 184 countries. This guides feed producers on how much due diligence they must carry out in sourcing ingredients from different countries.

Currently, ASC is working on a new Supply Chain Module that will replace the ASC Chain of Custody Module. This revision among others, has a strong focus on strengthening human rights assurance in the supply chain. More information on how to contribute to this revision can be found here.

ASC requires that social indicators are audited at every audit during the three-year certification cycle. ASC accredited CABs and their auditors must follow processes as described in ISO 17021-1 and ISO 19011, as well as following ASC requirements in the ASC Certification and Accreditation Requirements (CAR) document. The latter includes holding an opening and closing meeting at the ASC audits, conducting walkthroughs of the site and employee accommodation (where relevant), reviewing documents and records, and a minimum number of private interviews with different employees that is dependent on the number of employees and several risk factors and is calculated using ASC’s Audit Planning Tool. Social auditors are required to have specific qualifications and experience, and ASC also trains social auditors on the specific ASC social requirements.

ASC discloses all audit reports and audit results on its website (see Find a Farm and Find a Feed Mill pages). This includes farms and feed mills that are certified or are in an initial audit stage, and those that have had their certificates cancelled, suspended, withdrawn, or not awarded, and those whose certificates have expired, or have failed an audit. The audit reports contain information on the nature of nonconformances and stakeholders can comment on draft audit reports before they are finalised and a certification decision taken. Both the draft and final versions of the audit reports are published. The ASC GIS mapping portal shows the location of farms and feed mills across the world and offers additional information.

The first ASC Standards were developed with a wide range of stakeholders during the initial development (see ASC’s 10th Anniversary Book). Public consultations remain key for ASC in revising existing standards and developing new ones – with efforts made to include all relevant stakeholder groups. Technical Working Groups advise on new topics for inclusion in the standards and include a range of different stakeholders. ASC is stepping up its efforts to involve harder to reach groups by exploring ways of working with worker organisations, human rights NGOs, and representatives of Indigenous communities in the development of processes and governance structures.

Yes, there are remediation requirements for child and forced labour, and guidance on remediation including timelines and best practices, as well as strong recommendations to consult local experts for support with the development and implementation of effective remediation.