Whether on the supermarket shelves or at the fish counter, salmon stands out for its rich, pinkish-orange colour. Where does this distinctive colour come from? Is it natural or artificial? Salmon feed on colour To answer this question, we must first take a look at the salmon’s food chain. Salmon is a predator, it eats smaller fish, krill and other small crustacea. These crustacea in turn feed off algae. This is where the colour comes in. Certain algae produce a plant pigment called astaxanthin. Astaxanthin is an antioxidant that protects algae against stress, such as from strong sunlight or la ..read more

Every year, on the 10th of December, the world celebrates Human Rights Day. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948, proclaims the inalienable rights that every human being is entitled to, no matter who they are or where they are. Around the world, whether at a global or at a local level, human rights impact our lives on a daily basis, and it is imperative that we continue to engage in discussion consistently. ASC and Human Rights At ASC, we are working to address human rights issues in aquaculture supply chains. The current ASC standards include many r ..read more

Delving into the findings from ASC’s first annual stakeholder survey. As part of ASC’s commitment to continuous improvement, in the first quarter of 2022 we ran a stakeholder survey designed to identify where ASC is doing well, areas where improvements could be made and where future challenges and opportunities lie – both for ASC as an organisation and for the sector as a whole. This survey was a trial to explore which areas we would like to track over time with our stakeholders, to serve as a baseline for future work. Our intention is to run this survey annually so that we can measure how we ..read more

Focusing on innovative solutions in a changing world, the Aquaculture Europe 2022 which took place in Rimini, Italy in September was a good opportunity to connect, discuss, and be inspired by fresh ideas within the aquaculture sector. Aquaculture Europe is one of the leading international scientific conferences in Europe organised by the European Aquaculture Society yearly. The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) was present at the event, with some of ASC staff presenting about current projects across three different sessions. With almost 3,000 attendees across 76 countries, the event extend ..read more

How do you know if the seafood you buy is responsibly raised? There’s no doubt our love of seafood is growing, and it’s easy to see why. Not only are fish, shellfish and seaweed amazingly tasty, they also contribute to healthy lifestyles and immune function. Many types of seafood are rich in easily digested protein, omega-3s, vitamins and minerals to support our hearts, brains and bodies. These blue foods are also an incredibly efficient way to produce the protein needed to feed our growing world. The great news for seafood lovers is that there are a multitude of seafood products available in ..read more

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By Pla Duangchai As the world slowly opens up again after more than two years of countries closing their borders, opportunities like a farm visit can mean a lot not only for the farmers but also for us who work in the ASC Improver Programme (IP). For me, this meant a chance to reconnect and talk with farmers after being on lockdown in my home country of Thailand since January 2020. I was curious as to how the pandemic had impacted farm operations and looked forward to speaking with and listening to farmers in person. In July, together with our project partners ThinkAqua and YSAI (Yayasan Susta ..read more

The Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) biennial State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) report is an important reference document for the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), enabling us to keep track of the scale and scope of our work to drive up standards across the industry. The latest report was published at the end of June 2022. Here are our main take-aways and what they mean for ASC: Aquaculture production is at a record high (122.6 million tonnes in 2020) In 2020, animal aquaculture production reached an all-time high of 87.5 million tonnes: 6% higher than in 2018, 3 ..read more

Inaugural Shrimp Summit A Success for Certified Seafood On July 12-13, 2022 the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) hosted its inaugural 2022 ASC Shrimp Summit in Guayaquil, Ecuador. The first-of-its-kind event served to unite North American retailers with Ecuadorian producers of ASC-certified and labeled shrimp – offering an intimate look at the supply chain right where it starts: on the farm.  ASC gathered 14 representatives from major retail companies including Alberton’s, Ahold Delhaize USA and Loblaws, along with industry heavyweights like Sysco, for a series of farm tours, panels ..read more

For the second year, ASC was delighted to sponsor the sustainability seminar at the North Atlantic Seafood Forum (NASF) in Bergen, Norway, alongside NASF, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and the Global Seafood Alliance (GSA). This year’s seminar was a hybrid event with speakers both on-site and joining remotely, as well as an in-person and online audience, which was welcome after last year’s conference which was entirely online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.   The overall topic this year was on how to accelerate towards a more sustainable seafood sector. The seminar was made up o ..read more