Aquaculture certification

Ever-growing global demand for seafood is putting intense pressure on the world’s fish stocks. Aquaculture, or fish-farming, reduces reliance on wild-capture fishing, but its rapid growth has had a negative impact on the environment and local communities. However, consumers are increasingly aware of aquaculture-related issues such as antibiotic and pesticide residues, the spread of parasites and pathogens, and water pollution.

Bureau Veritas supports aquaculture industry players in addressing these concerns. Our certification services allow you to demonstrate your commitment to best practices for sustainable, responsible fish-farming, boost your brand image and gain access to new seafood markets. Bureau Veritas is fully accredited to provide certification to the world’s leading responsible aquaculture standards.

Key benefits

Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification

Certification to the ASC Farm standards enables aquaculture players to demonstrate the environmental and social responsibility of their fish-farming practices. The 11 current ASC Farm standards cover several species, including shrimp, salmon, trout, tilapia, catfish and a joint ASC-MSC standard for seaweed.  To achieve the ASC ecolabel, aquaculture farms must actively minimize their environmental impact, safeguard fish health, respect surrounding communities and operate in a socially responsible manner according to stringent standards. Bureau Veritas has been providing ASC Farm certification since 2014.

The Feed Standard takes the ASC’s approach to responsible aquaculture and extends it to the feed mills that manufacture aquafeed, as well as the suppliers of their ingredients.

Before the performance of initial and renewal audit, a stakeholder consultation is conducted by BVCH to collect any feedback from stakeholders to be considered by our audit team during those audits. Please use also this link for any comment you would like to be considered between 2 audits, we will communicate this specific information to the audit team that will perform the next audit.

ASC Chain of Custody traceability certification

For a product to bear the ASC ecolabel, all companies along its the supply chain (e.g. processors, traders, importers, retailers) must be possess ASC Chain of Custody certification. Certification to the ASC Chain of Custody allows seafood players to demonstrate that their products are identifiable, separated from non-certified products and traceable back to ASC-certified sources. The audit process is identical to that according to the MSC Chain of Custody  standard, to which Bureau Veritas also provides certification services.

Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification

The Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) standard was developed by the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) to address environmental and social responsibility, animal welfare, food safety and traceability. BAP covers the entire production chain, from farms and processing plants, to hatcheries and feed mills, and is recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).

GlobalG.A.P. Aquaculture certification

The GlobalG.A.P. Aquaculture and Integrated Aquaculture Assurance standards lay out stringent requirements for responsible aquaculture practices for the farming of fish, crustaceans and mollusks. The standards, which applies to the entire production chain, cover animal health and welfare, environmental and ecological stewardship and social accountability, and are recognized by the GFSI. GlobalG.A.P. Chain of Custody certification allows processors and other seafood players along the supply chain to demonstrate the identity and traceability of their products.  

Demonstrate traceability with Origin

Traceability, the ability to trace a product directly back to its point of origin, is the aquaculture industry’s best mechanism for preventing illegally-sourced products from entering the supply chain. In addition to traceability certification services, Bureau Veritas offers Origin, a B2C solution that uses blockchain technology to gives a comprehensive look at a product’s journey.