ASC opens consultation on operational review of three standards

The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) today launched a public consultation on its proposal for improving its pangasius, tilapia and salmon standards. The consultation will close on 15 April 2015.

This is an initial opportunity for stakeholders to take part in ASC’s operational review and offer their views on how to improve the ASC’s standards.

Over the last two  years, independent auditors have certified 127 farms against the tilapia, pangasius, salmon, trout and shrimp standards. Further farms are in assessment, including a number being assessed against the bivalve standard.

Scope of the operational review

The ASC’s Supervisory Board and Technical Advisory Group (TAG) have discussed the operational effectiveness of the initial assessments against these standards and considered there was sufficient experience to launch a review of the pangasius, tilapia and salmon standards.

This is not a complete review of these standards as there is a focus on areas where the effectiveness of a standard is not as anticipated. The review will be governed by the guidelines set out in the ISEAL Code of Conduct for Standard Setting.

Stakeholders may wish to submit feedback on operational issues outside of the scope of this review. ASC welcomes this feedback and will acknowledge and record issues submitted to inform a full review of the ASC standards in the future.

This operational review will complement ASC’s project to harmonise the structure and content of its eight farm standards to create, to the extent possible, a core ASC Standard. It will achieve this by harmonising criteria where possible while maintaining species’ or production method specific requirements where needed.

How to take part in the review

Download the Terms of Reference for the operational review, which sets out the objectives of the review, its scope and timelines.

To provide feedback on the Terms of Reference and other areas where an operational review of an ASC standard is warranted, complete and submit the comments form in Annex A.

The Terms of Reference will be revised based on public feedback and the standards will be reviewed according to the identified improvement areas. If warranted, proposed revisions to the standards are expected to be available for initial public consultation in July 2015.