ASC

Program Introduction:

ASC, the full title for Aquaculture Stewardship Council, was established in 2010, it is an independent international non-profit organization who was originally initiated by WWF and IDH, The Sustainable Trade Initiative. Its mission is to transform aquaculture towards environmental sustainability and social responsibility using efficient market mechanisms that create value across the chain. It is the only aquaculture certification scheme to be recognized as a full member of the ISEAL Alliance.

Similar to MSC fishery certification program, ASC certification program includes ASC Farm certification and CoC certification.

ASC Farm certification: ASC farm certifications cover series of farm standards as per different species and for each farm standard, it generally addresses 7 principles and criteria to minimize environmental and social impacts.

ASC CoC certification: Since early 2012, ASC has used MSC’s CoC certification to cover ASC certified product supply chains. This robust system is the leading international standard for seafood segregation and traceability and it covers the entire supply chain, from farm to final sale.

So, the CoC certifications for ASC and MSC products are under the same process, and 2 certificates can be acquired through one CoC audit if the company applied for both MSC CoC certification and ASC CoC certification.

Accreditation

ESTS has been accredited for MSC CoC certification (Worldwide excluding Canada and USA) by ASI (refer to MSC CoC program), which means ESTS can also provide service of ASC CoC certification because they use the same CoC standards.

Certification Process

MSC流程图.jpg

Other information:

MSC CoC standards and relevant documents can be downloaded here: https://www.msc.org/for-business/certification-bodies/chain-of-custody-program-documents

 ASC label Guidelines:

https://www.asc-aqua.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ASC-Logo-User-Guide_Oct2019_251019_reduced.pdf

 Find an ASC certified CoC supplier:

https://www.asc-aqua.org/what-you-can-do/take-action/find-a-supplier/

 Find an ASC certified farm:

https://www.asc-aqua.org/find-a-farm/