Salmon farmers in B.C. continue to reach significant milestones on their way to achieving 100% ‘Gold Standard’ third-party certification by 2020 with the announcement of two further salmon farms certified by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council.  Cermaq Canada has announced that it is North America’s first salmon farming company to have achieved ASC certification for multiple farms.  They are joining Marine Harvest Canada as the only suppliers of ASC certified salmon grown in North America. Only 46 salmon farms around the world have achieved this stringent certification first developed by the World Wildlife Fund.

 “Members of the BCSFA are committed to world leading practices and are showing continuous improvement in hitting milestones along the way,” said BCSFA Executive Director, Jeremy Dunn.  “Cermaq Canada joining Marine Harvest Canada in achieving this certification is another step in validating the efforts and commitment made by the companies farming in British Columbia.”

These farms are located in Clayoquot Sound on the West Coast of Vancouver Island and operate under a protocol agreement with the Ahousaht First Nation.  The full audit reports are available for the farms, Bare Bluff and McIntyre Lake.

The ASC standard is the most recently developed and most demanding global sustainability certification system.   The standard was developed through a dialogue process led by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) that engaged over 2,000 representatives from the global aquaculture industry, retail and foodservice sector, NGOs, government and scientific community between 2004 and 2015.

By 2020, B.C. aims to be the first region in the world to be certified by ‘Gold Standard’ environmental programs, which includes having all farm-raised Atlantic salmon ASC certified.  B.C. is the first and only salmon farming region to have all of its Atlantic salmon certified by the Global Aquaculture Alliance Best Aquaculture Practices program. The province is also home to North America’s first certified organic Chinook producer in Creative Salmon.  Today, over 50 per cent of the world’s seafood is farmed, with projections showing this figure will explode to 75 per cent in just 15 years.

About the BC Salmon Farmers Association
B.C salmon farmers grow 58% of all salmon raised in Canada and account for 60% of the total landed value of seafood in British Columbia, generating more than $1.14-billion towards the provincial economy.  The BCSFA represents the province’s vibrant and diversified salmon aquaculture sector inclusive of companies raising salmon as well as the businesses that proudly provide services and supplies. For more information visit BCSalmonFarmers.ca.