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The ASC Farm Standard
The Standard is changing for fish, farm, people and planet
The ASC Farm Standard sets responsible practices for global seafood farming. Its impact-based sustainability requirements cover animal welfare, farm management, human rights and environmental stewardship for fish, farm, people and the planet.
Aligning the twelve ASC species standards into one global standard, the ASC Farm Standard brings greater consistency to requirements across all species covered by ASC.
Accelerating progress towards sustainable seafood
The ASC Farm Standard is structured according to four principles. Each principle brings together impact-driven improvements focused around the farm, fish, people and the planet.
ASC Farm Standard documentation and ASC Programme Centre
The ASC Programme Centre is your all-in-one digital hub for all ASC Certification Programmes.
You can navigate through the digital, interactive standards, apply filters to represent your individual production criteria and quickly access all supporting documents and tools from the helpful toolbox.
Certification Documents
ASC Farm Standard
English
Korean
Spanish
Vietnamese
ASC Farm and Feed Certification and Accreditation Requirements (CAR) V1.0
ASC Group Requirements for Farms 1.0
Vietnamese
Supporting Resources
Interpretation Manual
Vocabulary Portal
ASC Farm Trifold
Supporting Your Transition to the ASC Farm Standard
A Two-Year Implementation Period
Understanding that change takes time and effort, ASC is introducing a two-year transition period for the ASC Farm Certification Programme, beginning in May 2025.
While some early adopters are ready to change now, this period allows others the time they need to adapt their practices to fully implement the new standard.
During this period, adoption of the ASC Farm Standard is optional.
The ASC Species Standards
The ASC Species Standards will remain operational during this implementation period.
Recognising Leadership and Fostering Collaboration
We appreciate the leadership of our early adopters and are exploring options to formally recognise and support them, including opportunities for peer-to-peer learning and showcasing best practices.
Your Success is Our Priority
Throughout the transition, ASC will work with producers, closely monitoring programme implementation and providing comprehensive support. This includes training, mock audit and self-assessment tools – all designed to ensure a smooth transition.
We will actively engage with producers to understand their feedback which will inform potential refinements to the standard. This is a valuable opportunity for producers to engage with ASC and provide their insights into the standard’s practical application. We encourage early familiarisation and implementation planning, as this will both position farms for success and contribute to the standard’s ongoing evolution.
Together, we will accelerate the transformation towards a sustainable aquaculture industry.
Collaborating for Change – our journey to the ASC Farm Standard
Over 1,100 individual consultation responses received
Stakeholder inclusion and participation is a key element of all ASC standards to ensure that they reflect a breadth of knowledge, expertise and expectations about how to accelerate progress towards sustainable seafood in a transparent way.
ASC conducted multiple rounds of stakeholder consultation on specific topics and sought expert input over several years to develop the ASC Farm Standard. Between March and June 2024, the ASC Farm Standard was issued in full to help finalise its contents and to understand stakeholders’ views about the feasibility and acceptability of its contents.
More information, including detailed findings, methodologies and actions taken by ASC in response to this feedback is available 393 Stakeholder Consultation Summary Report
Additional information and supporting resources
Request a new species
You can help us with this by telling us which species you think ASC should consider certifying in the future. If you have a particular species in mind please use the link below.
Variance Request and Interpretation platform
Variance Requests (VR’s) are requests to adapt an ASC standard requirement to a local context while continuing to adhere to the original intent of the requirement.
The Interpretation platform is a searchable database of all Variance Requests and Questions for Interpretation (QA’s) submitted to the ASC. Variance Requests are publicly available to improve consistency in understanding and application of ASC standards and Certification Accreditation Requirements (CAR).