Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) develops industry feed standards

The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) Responsible Feed Project working group met in early September in Amsterdam to discuss responsible feed standards for the aquaculture industry.  Fifty people with expertise in areas such as supply chain, feed mills and ingredients including marine, plant, animal and micro-ingredients attended this working group event.

Michiel Fransen, Secretary for the ASC’s Responsible Feed Project, explained “All major ingredients that are used today have an environmental impact, even those that are substituted for fish meal and oil.  For many of these ingredients “sustainable” practices are yet to be defined, but it is possible to define “responsible”.  For those ingredients that do have a definition of “sustainable” practices, it is important to develop a step-wise approach to reach that goal over time.  Tackling this is one of the challenges for the Technical Working Groups.” 

Chris Ninnes, CEO of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, described the Feed Standard as a way to ensure consistency in the manner in which the feed industry addresses sustainability and social responsibility issues.  Independent certification is a way to share best practices and ensure the Standard is being applied appropriately.

The steering committee and working group will provide expertise in the development of the requirements that will make up the ASC Feed Standard. After the draft Standard is prepared, input will be solicited from stakeholders through two public reviews. The final version of the Standard will be available for anyone who wishes to use it and will be accompanied by an audit manual to guide in the application of the Standard.  Information sourced from http://www.asc-aqua.org.

— Joy Wade