ASC is the acronym for Aquaculture Stewardship Council, an independent not for profit organisation. The ASC was founded in 2009 by WWF and IDH (Dutch Sustainable Trade Initiative) to manage the global standards for responsible aquaculture, which are under development by the Aquaculture Dialogues, a programme of roundtables initiated and coordinated by WWF. Currently the ASC is in its business development phase. The ASC is expected to be in full operation by mid 2011.
The ASC will be the world's leading certification and labelling programme for responsibly farmed seafood. The ASC will be a global organisation working with aquaculture producers, seafood processors, retail and foodservice companies, scientists, conservation groups and the public to promote the best environmental and social choice in seafood.

Through a series of roundtables, called Aquaculture Dialogues, WWF works with farmers, retailers, NGOs, scientists and other aquaculture industry stakeholders worldwide to develop standards for responsible aquaculture. The standards will minimize the key environmental and social impacts associated with aquaculture.

Actual status of the standard development:

• Tilapia - standards are final.
• Pangasius - standards are expected to be completed in April. The Pangasius Dialogue has completed its public comment phase and will hold its final meeting in Vietnam this week (2/3/2010).
• Shrimp and Abalone - On March 1, 2010, the Aquaculture Dialogue standards for shrimp and abalone aquaculture were posted for the first of two public comment periods. Final shrimp and abalone standards are expected by the end of this year.
• Salmon - The Steering Committee is in the midst of revising indicators and drafting standards. The full suite of principles, criteria, indicators and standards will be posted for public comment in April 2010.
• Bivalves - The second comment period ends on April 1, 2010. The standards are expected to be finalized during the second quarter of 2010.
• Trout, Cobia and Seriola – standards under development
  

Prior to the ASC becoming fully operational in 2011, the Aquaculture Dialogue standard certification process will be handled by entities that meet several criteria. The first entity to meet the criteria is GLOBALGAP. GLOBALGAP's accredited certification bodies are authorised 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.
The Aquaculture Dialogue standards will be added on, in their entirety, to the GLOBALGAP standards (instead of replacing the GLOBALGAP standards).
WWF will work with GLOBALGAP to create guidance documents, check lists and training materials for the people who will be auditing farms that want to be certified against the Aquaculture Dialogue standards. The first set of documents (for tilapia) will be completed in April and GLOBALGAP will be able to begin auditing tilapia farmers in the second quarter of 2010.

Please see the FAQ lists at ASC or WWF and contact us at aqua@imo.ch.