Few companies follow their own industry standards

In September 2018 Seachoice published a report which reviewed how well the world's fish farming industry conforms to the standards of its own Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC). 

Their review states:

The ASC "responsibly farmed" eco-label is considered the gold Standard of farmed seafood eco-certifications. But our review of ASC certified salmon farms around the world reveals only a small proportion of farms follow the eco-label's stipulated criteria, yet they are still being certified.

Their analysis of Australia reveals significant non-conformities with the standard. They report:

• All three major salmon farming companies have at least some of their farms certified.
• Twenty-One Australian ASC certified farms were reviewed. On review of 28 audits (11 initial; 13 surveillance; 4 re-certification), 36 major non-conformities and 275 minors were raised. On average, an Australian audit had 1.2 major and 9.8 minor non-conformities.

Their summary recommendation is that It is critical that eco-certifications are leading to genuine changes on the water and not simply rewarding business as usual.