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The salmon and cod standard
With ASC certification, salmon and cod farmers evidence their contributions to responsible labour practices, disease management, and ecosystem conservation.
ASC sets the standards for environmentally and socially responsible salmon and cod farming.
Certified farms actively minimise their impact on the surrounding natural environment.
Certified farms operate in a socially responsible manner, care for their employees and work with the local community.
ASC certification gives farms clear guidelines to follow. The salmon and cod Standard helps protect farms against these issues:
Biodiversity
ASC certified farms minimise impacts on the local ecosystem in a number of ways, such as the development and implementation of an impact assessment to protect birds, marine mammals and sensitive habitats, protection of the ecological quality of the seabed, ensuring farms are not sited in High Conservation Value Areas (HCVA) and minimising fish escapes to an absolute minimum. All lethal incidents with wildlife must be made publicly available.
Feed
ASC certification requires salmon and cod farms to adhere to strict limits to minimise the use of wild fish as an ingredient for feed. In addition, the standard requires farms to ensure full traceability back to a responsibly managed source, preferably certified, both for wild fish and soy.
Pollution
PollutionASC certified salmon and cod farms are required to measure various water parameters (phosphorus, oxygen levels, etc.) at regular intervals and remain within set limits. Responsible farming can only take place in water bodies that are classified as ‘good’ or ‘very good’ (e.g. by the EU Water Framework Directive). Copper release into the water must be minimised and monitored.
Diseases
DiseasesASC certified salmon and cod farms are required to adhere to rigorous requirements to minimise disease outbreaks. A Fish Health Management Plan detailing steps for biosecurity management must be developed under supervision of a veterinarian and implemented on the farm. In addition, salmon farms need to adhere to low levels of parasites (especially sea lice) and can only use certain medicines under very strict conditions. The use of medicine before a disease is diagnosed (prophylactic use), is prohibited. Producers need to manage farms in such a way that fish survival rate is high. Instances of unexplained increased mortality, as well as salmon sea lice counts are required to be publicly available.
Social
SocialASC certification imposes strict requirements based on the core principles of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), these include prohibiting the use of child labour or any form of forced labour. All ASC certified farms are safe and equitable working environments where employees earn a decent wage and have regulated working hours. Producers also need to consult communities, including ingigenous communities, inform them about health risks and provide access to vital resources. Similar requirements apply for smolt and fingerling suppliers to the ASC certified farms.
Standard documents
Salmon and cod – Standard documents
ASC Salmon and Cod Standard v1.5
Please click here to access the archive of previous versions of the ASC Standards documents.
Other documents
Salmon and cod- Other documents
Please click here to access the archive of previous versions of the ASC Standards documents.