Increase Marine Ingredient Sustainability Level Under ASC Feed

Sustainable sourcing rules for whole-fish marine ingredients

The Aquaculture Stewardship Council updated rules for sourcing marine ingredients under Criterion 4.1 in version 1.2 of the ASC Feed Standard. This affects quality managers, compliance leads and procurement personnel at certified feed manufacturing facilities. Certified feed mills must calculate the Majority Sustainability Level of their whole-fish marine ingredients and demonstrate progressive improvement over time. Conformity Assessment Body auditors verify ingredient scoring, volume calculations and progression trajectories during initial and annual surveillance audits.

Marine ingredients deliver essential nutrients in aquafeed formulations, but global forage fisheries face varying environmental and management challenges. The Majority Sustainability Level framework establishes an improvement model that incentivises fishery improvement while allowing feed mills to maintain market access. Sourcing rules apply strictly to whole-fish marine ingredients representing more than one percent of total annual ingredient weight received for aquafeed. Marine by-products derived from fish processing, aquaculture by-products and fish retained under regulatory landing obligations are excluded from Majority Sustainability Level calculations.

Failing to score whole-fish ingredients correctly, omitting required receiving records or failing to increase the Majority Sustainability Level across certification cycles indicates a non-conformity. Auditors examine receiving tickets, bills of lading, catch certificates and supply chain certification status during annual assessments. Demonstrating transparent fishery tracking ensures ongoing compliance across whole-fish supply chains.

Four sustainability categories for whole-fish ingredients

Indicator 4.1.1 and Appendix 4, Step 1 require feed manufacturers to categorise all received whole-fish marine ingredients into four distinct sustainability categories:

• Category 1: Raw material originates from a fishery accepted in the MarinTrust Improver Programme and listed as an active Fishery Improvement Project on FisheryProgress.org, processed by an accepted facility with valid chain of custody.
• Category 2: Raw material is approved under the MarinTrust Factory Standard, processed by a certified ingredient manufacturer and verified through MarinTrust chain of custody or a verified traceability system.
• Category 3: Raw material originates from a MarinTrust-approved fishery actively engaged in a comprehensive Fishery Improvement Project on FisheryProgress.org, processed by a certified manufacturer with valid chain of custody.
• Category 4: Raw material is sourced from a fishery certified under the Marine Stewardship Council or an equivalent recognized standard, with all supply chain actors holding valid chain of custody certification.

Calculating the Majority Sustainability Level and Entry Level

Feed mills calculate their Majority Sustainability Level using the volume formulas detailed in Appendix 4, Step 2:

• Volume classification: Feed mills sum annual receiving volumes in tonnes across Category 1, Category 2, Category 3, Category 4 and uncategorized whole-fish ingredients.
• Threshold determination: Level 1 applies when Category 1 volume equals or exceeds fifty percent of total whole-fish volume.
• Cumulative calculation: Level 2 applies when Category 2 volume equals or exceeds fifty percent, or when Category 4, Category 3 and Category 2 volumes combined reach fifty percent.
• Higher level assignment: Level 3 applies when Category 3 volume reaches fifty percent alone or combined with Category 4, while Level 4 applies when Category 4 volume reaches fifty percent.
• Entry Level baseline: For initial audits under Indicator 4.1.2, mills calculate their Entry Level using receiving records from the twenty-four months prior to the audit date.
• Minimum Entry Level: Under Indicator 4.1.3, feed mills must achieve an Entry Level of at least Level 1, unless formal systems demonstrate moving from baseline Level 0 to Level 1 within the first year.

Three-year progression ladder and single fishery exceptions

The Majority Sustainability Level framework functions as a continuous improvement mechanism across three-year certification cycles:

• Cycle maintenance: Under Indicator 4.1.4 and Indicator 4.1.6, feed mills must maintain their established Majority Sustainability Level at each annual surveillance audit.
• Triennial progression: Under Indicator 4.1.5, certified feed mills must increase their Majority Sustainability Level by at least one level higher at each subsequent three-year recertification audit until reaching Level 4.
• Single fishery exception: Indicator 4.1.5 permits a feed mill dependent on a single fishery in a Fishery Improvement Project to extend its current level for up to three years if shifting supplies is not possible.
• Extension conditions: The mill must demonstrate historical delivery dependency exceeding three years and show that importing alternative raw materials causes significant production delays or cost increases.
• Annual reporting rules: Under Indicator 4.1.7 and Indicator 4.1.8, feed mills must report their annual Majority Sustainability Level and marine ingredient volumes publicly and to the Aquaculture Stewardship Council.

What to do now

• Categorise marine ingredients: Audit receiving dockets for all whole-fish marine ingredients from the past twenty-four months and assign each batch to Category 1, 2, 3 or 4.
• Calculate baseline Entry Level: Sum whole-fish receiving volumes in tonnes and apply Appendix 4 formulas to establish the initial Entry Level prior to certification.
• Verify FisheryProgress listings: Confirm that participating Fishery Improvement Projects remain listed as active basic or comprehensive projects on FisheryProgress.org.
• Submit annual marine disclosures: Report annual Majority Sustainability Level figures and total marine ingredient volumes to the Aquaculture Stewardship Council using official data templates.

Reference documents

• ASC Feed Standard, V1.2, Criterion 4.1, Indicators 4.1.1, 4.1.2, 4.1.3, 4.1.4, 4.1.5, 4.1.6, 4.1.7, 4.1.8, Appendix 4
• ASC Feed Standard Interpretation Manual, V1.2, Criterion 4.1, Appendix 4