The Aquaculture Stewardship Council has released standards for flatfish and tropical marine finfish, and has updated its standard for pangasius.
The two new standards add 16 genera to the ASC program, “allowing for the transparent, third-party certification an even greater number of species produced and consumed around the world,” according to the certification organization.
Those genera included in the tropical marine finfish standard, known as species in the seafood trade, include snappers, pompano, barramundi, and croaker, while the flatfish category includes several species of flounder, turbot, and Atlantic halibut.
“The addition of these two new standards represents the diversity and wide reach of the growing ASC program,” ASC CEO Chris Ninnes said. “Aquaculture is a truly global industry, and to fulfil our mission to drive up fish farming standards worldwide our standards must reflect the variety of species produced and enjoyed in different regions.”
Ninnes said ASC pursued the creation of the new standards as a way to allow farmers of the several popular aquaculture species now included into its certification scheme.
“Domestic consumption and inter-regional trade are both important market considerations behind the development of the … standard,” he said. “Request[s] from key consuming markets where ASC is becoming increasingly embedded, including China, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore, were integrated to the rationale for the creation of [the tropical marine finfish] standard.”
The release of the standards initiates a six-month effective period, after which farms can apply for certification. That period will end on 26 December, 2019.
Additionally, the ASC has updated its pangasius standard to include revisions made after multiple rounds of public consultations. The changes “provide for increased protection of wetlands near pangasius farms, [include] requirements to include fish meal and fish oil from IFFO RS certified sites or fisheries with lower FishSource scores (FS), and the disclosure of transgenic plant and plant-derived ingredients in feed,” according to ASC.
“The latest revision will also add additional requirements regarding antibiotics, as farms will have to verify the total amount of each antibiotic active ingredient used per ton of fish produced per year and of the frequency of treatments,” ASC said. “As with all ASC standards, farms are not allowed to use any antibiotics on the World Health Organizations list of medicines critically important to human health.”
The pangasius standard will also have a six-month effective period which will end 26 December, 2019.
