What does ASC cover?
ASC farm certification addresses responsible seafood farming. Public guidance covers farm management, environmental impacts, human rights and animal welfare. The applicable farm standard and transition arrangements should be confirmed for the farm’s species and assessment date.
Who it is for
Aquaculture farms assessing environmental, social and animal-welfare practices under applicable ASC requirements.
Key areas to understand
Start with these areas. Identify which requirements apply to your activities and who is responsible for them.
- 1Confirm farm scope and applicable assessment criteria.
- 2Connect environmental and welfare monitoring to operational decisions.
- 3Maintain transparent records and respond to worker and community concerns.
Evidence to prepare
This list is a starting point. Check the standard for all required documents. For each item, record who is responsible, the activity or site it relates to, and a recent example showing how it works.
- Farm scope and operating records
- Environmental monitoring and follow-up
- Animal health and welfare records
- Feed and input traceability
- Worker and stakeholder concern records
Keep records that explain what was checked, which requirement was used and who checked it. Include any action taken when a requirement was not met. Link each record to the work it supports.
An internal audit example
Suggested checks from 4Auditee
Select one monitoring result that exceeded an internal action threshold. Follow it from sampling through review, response and subsequent monitoring. Check how the farm established the affected area or population and communicated the decision to the responsible people.
Choose a sample that suits your activities and risks. If you find a gap, record the requirement, the evidence and what was missing. Check more examples if the first results suggest a wider problem.
A common problem to check
Collecting monitoring data without recording the response leaves the control loop incomplete. Evidence should connect results to decisions and follow-up.
Prepare for assessment
The assessment type for this guide is aquaculture certification scheme. Confirm the requirements, what will be assessed and how the assessment will work with the responsible body or customer. These steps help you prepare. You must also follow the scheme’s official rules.
- Define what is covered. List the products, services, activities and sites. Record the standard edition, additional scheme rules and customer requirements.
- Find what is missing. Compare the requirements with current work. Prioritise gaps by risk. Assign someone responsible and a completion date.
- Keep records of everyday work. Check a sample of actual records and speak with the people involved. Make sure they understand their responsibilities.
- Check the results. Complete internal reviews and audits. Check that corrective actions worked before closing problems.
From one site to many
Make it easy to find who is responsible at each site. Keep company policies separate from records of local work. Link each site’s records to its activities, risks and requirements so you can spot gaps at individual sites.
Sites that share a management system do not automatically qualify for one certificate or assessment. Confirm which sites can be included and how they will be checked with the assessment body.
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About this guide and its sources
4Auditee wrote this guide using the public source below. The evidence list, audit example and preparation steps are our suggestions. Read the official standard and scheme rules for the full requirements. This guide does not include the standard’s full text or provide certification.
DNV: ASC reference information