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Aquaculture
Aquaculture Stewardship Council Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the Aquaculture Stewardship Council?
- What are the Aquaculture Dialogues?
- Why is WWF interested in the formation of the ASC?
- What process will be used to create the ASC?
- How will the ASC be funded?
- What will WWF receive in exchange for providing funding for the ASC?
- What role will Dialogue participants and others have in the development and operation of the ASC?
- How will Dialogue participants and others be kept informed about the ASC?
- Why does WWF care about aquaculture?
- A lot of certification programs for aquaculture exist or are being created. Why are you creating a new entity?
- Prior to the creation of the ASC, who will be responsible for certifying farms that are in compliance with the Aquaculture Dialogue standards?
- What will the relationship be between the ASC and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)?
- Will the WWF logo be used on seafood certified through this initiative?
- What do we tell corporate partners who want to make a commitment to aquaculture certification before the Aquaculture Dialogue standards are completed?
- What is the Aquaculture Stewardship Council?
The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), which is expected to be in operation by 2011, will be responsible for working with independent, third party entities to certify farms that are in compliance with the standards for responsible aquaculture being created by participants of the Aquaculture Dialogues - What are the Aquaculture Dialogues?
Eight multi-stakeholder groups – collectively called the Aquaculture Dialogues – are creating global standards designed to minimize the key negative environmental and social impacts related to 12 aquaculture species: salmon, shrimp, tilapia, trout, pangasius, Seriola, cobia, abalone, mussels, clams, oysters and scallops. With minor exceptions, the standards will be quantitative performance levels farmers must reach to become certified. More than 2,000 aquaculture producers, conservationists, scientists and others are involved in the process, which is coordinated by World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The first sets of standards, for tilapia and pangasius, are expected to be completed in 2009 and the remainder will be finalized in 2010 - Why is WWF interested in the formation of the ASC?
Through the Aquaculture Dialogues, more than 2,000 people from throughout the world are creating what will be the most credible standards for the aquaculture industry. If we want to see change on the water, we need to back this hard work with a credible independent entity that makes it easy for producers who are in compliance with the standards to become certified. - What process will be used to create the ASC?
WWF will hire a person in the spring of 2009 who will be responsible for creating and working with an advisory committee to finalize the ASC business plan, develop an administrative structure for the ASC, and source funding for the ASC. Lessons learned through the creation of similar certification programs (e.g., Marine Stewardship Council) will help inform the process. The process will be transparent (as explained in question 8) and people will be encouraged to provide input (as explained in question 7). - How will the ASC be funded?
To initiate the process, WWF and The Dutch Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) will help fund the expenses for the person hired to create the ASC structure. WWF and IDH also have committed to being two of the funders of the ASC when it is created. Information about additional funders will be disseminated as that information becomes available. - What will WWF receive in exchange for providing funding for the ASC?
There is no obligation to provide any funders – including WWF – with anything in exchange for their financial contribution. However, it is likely that entities that contribute funding toward the ASC will be considered for a seat on the advisory committee formed to help create the ASC structure and/or the Board of Directors created to manage the ASC. WWF will not have a controlling interest in the ASC, just as WWF does not have a controlling interest in the Aquaculture Dialogue standards, which will be the product of more than 2,000 stakeholders. - What role will Dialogue participants and others have in the development and operation of the ASC?
They can play several roles, as described below. Input from Dialogue participants, specifically, will help ensure that that the rationale for creating the Aquaculture Dialogue standards is preserved in the ASC.- They will be encouraged to provide input during the business development phase, either by being a member of the advisory committee chosen to work with the person responsible for developing the ASC framework or by providing feedback to that committee.
- They will be encouraged to provide input after the ASC is up and running, either by being on the Board of Directors/staff or providing feedback to the Board/staff.
- They will be given the opportunity to financially support the ASC.
- Dialogue participants and the Technical Working Groups that worked with the Dialogues will be given first priority when a decision is made about who should serve on the committee chosen to review and, as needed, revise the standards over time.
They will not have decision-making authority unless they serve on the ASC Board of Directors.
- How will Dialogue participants and others be kept informed about the ASC?
Similar to the Aquaculture Dialogues process, the ASC process will be very transparent. During the business planning phase, updates about the ASC will be included in the Aquaculture Dialogues e-newsletter, posted on the Dialogue website (www.worldwildlife.org/aquadialogues), and shared with Dialogue participants at Dialogue meetings. Also, questions, comments and concerns about the development of the ASC can be directed to WWF-US Aquaculture Program Managing Director Jose Villalon at jose.villalon@wwfus.org. When the ASC is in operation, a communications strategy will be created and implemented. - Why does WWF care about aquaculture?
By volume, almost half of the seafood we eat is from aquaculture – the fastest growing food production system in the world – and aquaculture’s contribution is expected to continue to rise. As a conservation organization that protects the world’s oceans and coastal habitats, WWF believes the seafood industry can improve its practices so the growth of the industry has little to no negative impact on the environment now and in the future.
- A lot of certification programs for aquaculture exist or are being created. Why are you creating a new entity?
Most of the existing certification programs – and the standards they use – are not effective at making the aquaculture industry more sustainable, as reported in “Benchmarking Study: Certification Programmes for Aquaculture" released by WWF in 2007. The ASC will be the most credible entity for environmental and social standards because its standards will be measurable, based on sound science, created by a broad and diverse group of stakeholders, and developed through a transparent process. - Prior to the creation of the ASC, who will be responsible for certifying farms that are in compliance with the Aquaculture Dialogue standards?
GLOBALGAP will fill this role. GLOBALGAP’s accredited certification bodies will be authorized by GLOBALGAP to audit farms that adopt the Aquaculture Dialogue standards. Farms that are in compliance with the standards will receive a certificate of interim compliance from GLOBALGAP. This process will begin in the last quarter of 2009, after the first set of Dialogue standards and the guidance documents for GLOBALGAP auditors are completed. WWF also is considering several other entities that can fill this role on an interim basis. Criteria for these entities includes – but is not limited to – expertise in aquaculture, business and certification; the use of third-party certifiers; the use of a transparent process; and transparency about the certification process/outcomes. Also, each entity will be required to adopt the standards as a package, not piecemeal. - What will the relationship be between the ASC and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)?
This will be discussed when the business plan is created. The MSC has decided not to take on the role of certifying aquaculture products in the near future, but this does not rule out MSC being involved with the start-up of the ASC. - Will the WWF logo be used on seafood certified through this initiative?
There will be an ASC logo, not a WWF logo, on ASC-certified products. This is not a WWF process and the standards will not be owned by WWF. Although WWF convenes the Dialogue meetings, we are an equal stakeholder in the standards development process. - What do we tell corporate partners who want to make a commitment to aquaculture certification before the Aquaculture Dialogue standards are completed?
The existing standards that are on the market are something they can start with, but more effective standards are being developed by the Aquaculture Dialogues. We encourage our corporate partners and their suppliers to participate in the Dialogues to help make the standards as rigorous as possible for minimizing aquaculture’s impact on the environment and society.
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