Aquaculture Stewardship Council Certification

The Aquaculture Stewardship Council is a charity, which was established to address the “most pressing environmental and social impacts of aquaculture”.¹ Its “responsibly farmed” label is thought to be the gold standard for sustainability of farmed fish and its aim to drive up standards across the industry is welcome. And yet all is not well with the ASC.

Although it states that it receives no money from the certification process itself, it does not mention the funds it receives from licensing fees.² And, according to environmental group WildFish, those fees are the source of 97.6% of ASC’s annual income.³ The potential for a conflict of interest is clear, and environmental groups continue to raise serious concerns over the ASC’s reassuring “responsibly farmed” labelling.

Their biggest concern relates to the prevalence of sea lice on salmon farms and the high number of chemical treatments permitted by the ASC to control them.⁴ In Scotland, up to nine parasiticide treatments are allowed under the ASC’s standards.⁵

A second complaint is around the permissible rates of antibiotic treatments, given the problems of antibiotic-resistant superbugs that spread from factory farms.⁶

A third complaint relates to the quantity of wild fish that the ASC allows to be caught, killed, and included in feed for the farmed fish.⁷ As a charity ostensibly dedicated to sustainability, there is a lot to answer here.

And a fourth complaint relates to ASC certification being awarded to fish farms which are located in protected marine areas.⁸ Given the spread of sea lice to wild fish and the pollution of waters with toxic chemicals, this is, indeed, a big cause for concern.

In 2025, a coalition of environmental groups accused the ASC of endorsing “irresponsible salmon farming practices that place wild fish and marine ecosystems at risk”.⁹ It wrote: “Until such time as this industry can demonstrate conclusively that it can stop the appalling impact on wild salmonids and on the wider marine environment in Scotland, no one should buy or eat Scottish farmed salmon nor should anyone be fooled by meaningless slogans like ‘responsibly sourced.'”¹⁰

ASC’s lack of enforcement of the standards they do have is also worrying. In 2025, an ASC-certified salmon farm operated by Bakkafrost in Scotland exceeded the scheme’s own sea-lice limits for 11 consecutive weeks, reaching nearly four times the permitted threshold. Sea lice eat the fish alive, making any infestation, let alone one which breaches the permitted threshold by such a wide margin, truly horrific for animal welfare. The farm in question kept its certification anyway, making a mockery of the ASC label. Not only that, the farm was later used by ASC to host a guided “discovery tour” for seafood buyers.¹¹ Apparently breaching the rules doesn’t disqualify you from showcasing them.

In 2025, WildFish’s director, alongside the coalition of environmental groups, accused the ASC of being captured by the industry, which they said it appears to serve over and above the environment and wildlife.¹²

It is a familiar story, played out across all industrial farming sectors. Consumers are reassured by the sustainability label. Retailers get a  claim for their packaging that helps them sell more product. And industrial farming continues unabated. Everyone wins. Except the fish, Scotland’s ecosystems, local communities, wildlife, and the consumers who thought the label was a guarantee that all is well.