Aquaculture Certification Evolution

Aquaculture certification schemes are developing rapidly to include more robust welfare criteria as the science of fish welfare advances.

Key Facts

The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification was originally primarily environmental but now includes welfare standards
Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification includes welfare indicators for shrimp and salmon production
GlobalG.A.P. aquaculture standards have been revised to include fish welfare assessment protocols
Independent welfare auditing in aquaculture certification is challenging due to the difficulty of observing fish in water
Welfare indicators including mortality rates, disease records and handling protocols are the most practically auditable measures

Welfare Considerations

The evolution of aquaculture certification to include welfare criteria represents important progress, but significant gaps remain. Early aquaculture certification focused almost entirely on environmental sustainability, treating fish as resources rather than sentient individuals. The integration of welfare science into certification standards is accelerating but the practical challenge of auditing fish welfare remotely and reliably remains. Continuous improvement of both the welfare standards and the auditing methods is essential to translate certification into real-world welfare benefit.

What You Can Do

Choose certified aquaculture products from schemes with explicit welfare standards such as ASC
Advocate for welfare auditing to be strengthened in all major aquaculture certification programmes
Support research into practical, remotely auditable welfare indicators for different aquaculture species
Engage with certification bodies about strengthening and expanding their welfare requirements
Donate to organisations working on development of science-based aquaculture welfare standards